


Through Dreams and Memories

by animefan021513



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Childhood Memories, Creepy Pitch Black (Guardians of Childhood), Domestic Fluff, Dreams, Dreams and Nightmares, Dreamsharing, Epic Friendship, Family, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy, Friendship, Gen, I Made Myself Cry, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jack Feels, Jack Needs a Hug, Jack being Jack, Kozmotis Pitchiner Returns, Magic, Meet the Family, Memories, Minor Original Character(s), Protective Sanderson Mansnoozie, Recovered Memories, Snow and Ice, Some Humor, The Author Regrets Nothing, Truth, dream walking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 04:09:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 70,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18984973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animefan021513/pseuds/animefan021513
Summary: Once they get back to the North Pole after facing off against Pitch, Bunny and Sandy notice something is wrong with Jack. He's not breathing. They soon realize there may be a way to save him, but it involves dream walking and seeing his dreams and memories from childhood to the most recent events. Who was Jack Frost really? Had he ALWAYS had powers? Who was his Father? WHERE was his Father? Why wasn't he around? What kind of relationships did Jack build after becoming Jack Frost? Will he come out of this unscathed? Will they get to him time? Why is he fighting the darkness? What does Sandy have to do with it all? How does Jack know Kozmotis so well? What will the Guardians discover about Jack and each other? Where will it all lead!? READ AND FIND OUT! :)





	1. No Pulse and No Heart Beat

As the sleigh continued to make its way to the North Pole, Bunny took a brief look at Jack, and noticed that he had fallen asleep. His snow white hair was being tossed about gently in the wind despite how fast they were going, his blue hoodie looked torn in some places and still had the frost pattern on his shoulders, his pants were, to Bunny's surprise, old, brown, and at the bottom they were torn. The more he looked at the boy's sleeping face, the more he realized that he was just that. A boy.  _'It must've been an exaggeration when he said 'three hundred years' back at the pole. I met him in '68...he couldn't be any older than fifty as a spirit, and with that...him being a spirit and all, he's just slow at aging like North was.'_  Bunny let out a sigh through his nose as he continued to look at the sleeping form of their newest Guardian.

Soon, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he turned to see who it was, he noticed a concerned look on Sandy's face. Sandy began to hold up symbols asking,  _"Is everything alright, Bunny?"_

"Yeah." He let out a wry chuckle as he turned to face Jack again. "He's sleeping...I'm kind of curious what he's dreaming about...do ya mind?"

With a bright smile that Bunny couldn't see, Sandy made his way towards the small Guardian, and gently tapped his forehead, but when he did so, nothing happened.  _"What!?"_  Sandy questioned in shock with a large exclamation point and question mark above his head.

"Um...Sandy, why didn't anythin' appear?" Bunny asked with a growing concern in his chest.

 _"I don't know! That's never happened before!"_  Sandy quickly told him with a sense of dread creeping into his heart.

"What is wrong, Bunny?" North called from the reins, completely unaware of what was happening behind him, but if Bunny's voice of concern was anything to go by, it wasn't good.

"It's Jack...Sandy tried to summon whatever he was dreaming about, but nothing happened. It was no different than if he tried to see what your sleigh dreamed about. Just...nothing."

"That is impossible! Everyone dreams at some point! We even saw Pitch have a dream after Sandy slammed him into snow!"

Sandy quickly made his way up to where North could see him, and gave him a worried expression as he frantically held up his symbols.  _"No, North...Bunny is telling the truth! It SHOULD be impossible, but Nothing happened...even if he were to have a dreamless sleep...it was still show as three dots above his head."_

"Are you certain?" North questioned cautiously as he suddenly got a horrible sinking feeling in his belly. When Sandy nodded his head as he looked back to Jack who hasn't so much as stirred since he fell asleep, North let out a shaky sigh. "Bunny, check pulse."

"WHAT!? What do ya think is wrong with him!?" Tooth asked in alarm as she frantically looked back and forth between North and Jack.

"I don't know what is wrong with him." He told Tooth with a worried expression of his own. "Bunny, please..."

Bunny nodded his head as he swallowed a foreboding lump in his throat. He gently grabbed Jack's wrist that wasn't holding the staff, and he checked for a pulse, but his ears instantly went flat when he didn't feel one. His heart felt cold, empty, and sick as a lump returned in his throat. He then tried to check his neck to see if maybe it just wasn't as easy to pick up, but again nothing, and he noticed the worried looks he was getting from Tooth and Sandy.  _'No...no no NO!'_  He thought to himself as he leapt up and placed his ear against Jack's chest, and when he didn't hear a heart beat, he felt all of the life leave him all at once. He flopped back in his seat and tears started to fall. "N-North...h-he's..."

"What is it, Bunny!?" Tooth and North cried out, because they have never heard the Easter Bunny sound so broken.

"He...he d-doesn't h-have a...he...there's no pulse." He swallowed the thick lump that had formed in his throat as he stared at Jack. "I-I've met winter spirits before him...their pulses are normal, so i-it's n-not because he's a w-winter spirit...he...North..."

"NO!" North shouted with pure heartache clutching his chest as he pulled out a snow globe. "I say North Pole!" He threw the ball, and they swiftly moved through the portal, the reign deer hooves landing in the hanger where the sleigh would come out of. With a heavy heart and a pale face, North quickly made his way to Jack. "Jack! Wake up, Jack!" He shouted as he placed a large desperate hand on the younger Guardian's shoulder, but he didn't wake. "J-Jack? N-No..." He whispered out as his heart shattered. "H-He...he was just fine when we left! He took Oath! He was happy! Wh-What happened!?"

"I-I...I don't know!" Bunny stuttered out as his own heart began to break even further at seeing North's reaction.

"Jack!" North tried again, but once again, there was no response. "Jack..." North croaked out, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. "...please wake up, Jack..." He scooped the boy into his arms, and wanted so desperately for him to nuzzle into his warmth, but when he lifted him up, he was limp in his arms, and his staff slid out of his hand, nearly clattering to the ground if Bunny hadn't move to grab it.

Once Bunny caught it from falling, he felt an explosion in his chest. It was hope. It wasn't his, North's, Sandy's, or even Tooth's. It was Jack's, and it was coming from his staff for some reason. The hope was powerful. He knows he's never felt anything like it, and it was nearly crushing him. His heart was pounding and he was having trouble breathing from the weight of it. "N-North!"

"B-Bunny...we must get him to medical wing to see if there's anything we can do!" North immediately looked for the yeti that Jack had somehow recognized, and was glad to find him coming down the elevator.

Phil's eyes widened considerably at the body Jack was holding, and he didn't want to believe it.  _"North!"_  He shouted in his own language that both Bunny and North could understand.  _"What's happened to Jack!?"_

"You know him well!?" North questioned in shock.

_"Yes! He's a friend! Has been for quite some time!"_

"We'll talk more on that...we must get him to medical wing! He has no pulse!"

 _"No..."_  Phil breathed out as he rushed towards the elevator and urged them to come in. He led them down to the medical wing, and once they were there, he watched with searching eyes on the boy usually so full of life, but he found no signs of movement as North set him down gently on the bed.

"Sandy, try to see his dream again, but this time, sprinkle the dream sand over his face."

Sandy nodded his head. He knew what Jack mostly dreamed of, because he's messed with his dream sand on a number of occasions. He dreamed of being able to be near the ocean where the dolphins were. He dreamed of playing with them, because they were the most playful creatures he had ever seen. He dreamed of not hurting them due to his cold nature. He dreamed of being as free as the dolphins were. Knowing all of that, however, meant nothing if this didn't work. So, he floated over to Jack's body on the bed, where he looked even smaller if possible, and he sprinkled dream sand above his eyes, but again, nothing happened.  _"No..."_  Sandy whimpered out as he heard the gasps of shock and sadness come from their friends. Not wanting to believe Jack was dead, he remembered something he was taught a long time ago in his old life before coming to Earth.  _"Hold on...I'm going to try something, and it's going to be risky...and you all may not like where it may take us if it should work, but we should all go for his sake, and if it SHOULD work...then that means there's still a part of him hanging on somehow."_

"What is it?"

_"We're going to dream walk."_

"But...he...he's...how can we do that when he's..." Bunny couldn't bring himself to say it as he clutched to Jack's staff, still feeling the radiating hope off of it, and if he were to admit it, it put his own hope to shame. If it were to shine in front him, he was sure he would go blind from it, but he couldn't read what the hope was for. All he knew was that it was warm, bright, and alive.

_"We have to try. If it works...it will be kind of like going through his memories...but it will be dreams he's had since he was a child. We will be going through them all they way to this moment...and once we reach this moment...that is where we will try and wake him up. If...if it should work."_

"Have you seen anything like this before, Sandy?" Tooth asked as she wiped her tears away.

 _"O-Once..."_  He admitted with remorse on his features.  _"However, the no pulse thing is a bit different...I...when I was much younger...I was...I was injured badly. It nearly killed me...for real. The kind of dead you don't come back from like I did just a couple hours ago...it would've been a permanent death if it wasn't for an old friend."_

"Who was your friend?" Bunny questioned, holding onto Jack's hope like a lifeline. The only sign that he may not be what they were afraid he was at the moment.

 _"Kozmotis."_  At that, everyone gasped in shock.  _"We...at the time...we were like brothers with how close we were. I was being attacked by three dream pirates, and when he got to me...I wasn't responsive, and I always answered him. So, in order to see what was wrong, he dream walked through the memories of my dreams, and when he found me...I was being tortured by Nightmares...he banished them and saved me, but it was mostly due to how bad the injury was that was caused by the Nightmares...however...they didn't leave a mark. They got into my head, and...well...anyway...we'll see his dreams if it should work...I think it may be his only chance...if there's one to give._.." He quickly shook the negativity from his mind as he looked at North.  _"_ _Okay, North, go tell the other yeti to not come in here, and to not let anyone else or anything else into the room. The entire room is going to be filled with dream sand to them, but to us, it will be like we're living his dreams. We'll be lucid dreaming in his dream memories. We will be able to hear, smell, see, taste, and touch everything."_


	2. Elizabeth

Once North got back from telling the others to not enter the room, and to not let anything else in, Sandy nodded his head, and walked over to Bunny. "Bunny, give me your right paw." Once Bunny lifted up his right paw, Sandy placed his hand over it, and a glowing bracelet made of dream sand appeared. He then repeated the action around the crook of the staff, and then on the other Guardians.  _"This will allow us to be awake while we dream walk. Now, it may be disorienting, and unfortunately...we will see nightmares he would've had as well."_

"Oh, tell me you're jokin'." Bunny begged. "We're gonna see Jack go through Nightmares after seein' him like this!? How will we know if it works!?"

 _"Like this..."_  Sandy trailed off as he walked over to Jack once more, and he placed a hand over the boy's chest, and when he felt the warm pull that usually came with reading dreams, he nearly collapsed with relief.  _'He's not dead...not yet.'_  He thought to himself as he tried with immense effort not to let the tears fall from his eyes.  _"He...there's a chance for him!"_

"Get started then!" Bunny cried out as he eased his hold on the staff, allowing the tears of relief to fall down his fur.

Sandy nodded his head and swiftly waved his hand to the ceiling, while keeping one hand on Jack's chest.  _"Now, once it starts, we won't see Jack laying here. It really will be like we're there. It will be as if it were reality...but remember...it's not."_  With that said, he shot a ball of dream sand to the ceiling, transforming the entire room into a thick and lush forest.

"Where are we?" North asked and he looked for Sandy, but where Sandy once stood, there was a man wearing regal clothing. The loose golden shirt that had sleeves that hugged at his wrists was hugged by a black vest with golden swirls, his pants were black as well with the same intricate swirls that mimicked dream sand etched into the pattern, and his shoes were black. However, the man in front of them was taller. Almost as tall as Bunny, and he was built. He had Sandy's eyes, but the hair was slightly different, it was neatly combed back, but it was still golden. "S-Sandy!?"

"Yes?" Sandy smirked, and to their surprise he actually spoke.

"Y-You c-can speak!?" Tooth squeaked out.

"In the dream world I'm my true self. I used to look like this once, but when I came to Earth...the atmosphere did something to not only my form, but my ability to speak. This is what I used to look like all the time. Now...to answer your question, it's not where...it's when...but I can't tell the year quite yet. We're just going to have to pay attention. Look! There he is!" Sandy pointed to a boy running through the woods with a bright and wide smile on his face.

However, bunny, couldn't believe that was Jack. "Um...that can't be Jack...this boy has maple brown hair and eyes...Jack's eyes are ice blue and his hair is snow white."

"Trust me..." Sandy said as he rolled his eyes. "...that's Jack. Now...I will say this...more often than not...dreams can be memories...so we may see some actual memories...Tooth, can you tell us which one's are memories?"

"Yes...and this is a memory. He's...he's five in this one." Tooth answered with a confused and concerned expression.

_"Mama! Mama!" Jack shouted with pure delight as he rushed towards a woman with long maple colored hair like Jack's, but she had oak colored eyes. "Did you see how fast I ran Mama!"_

_"Yes I did!" She cooed in delight as she picked Jack up effortlessly. "Now, how did you run that fast I wonder..." She trailed off as she walked him over to the cloth that was set on the ground near the pond that started to look eerily familiar to all of them. She then started to take out food items, telling them all that this was a memory of having a picnic._

_"Wind helped me! See!" He shouted as he held out a hand to her, and much to the Guardians' surprise, the wind blew her hair back gently, causing them both to giggle. "She likes you."_

_"I'm glad. Now, are you going to be a big boy and eat the vegetables I brought?"_

_"Yes, Mama." He picked up the slices of cucumber she put on his plate and started eating it with a joyful look on his face, but it quickly fell after he swallowed it. "Hey, Mama?"_

_"What, sweetie?"_

_"How long has Wind been with me?"_

_"Since the day you were born." She smiled as she cut some bread for the two of them. "When I was pregnant with you...it was difficult, and I got sick many times, but when you were born...it was the best Christmas present ever. On December 25th, 1698, you were born, and you let out your first cry...and that's when the wind flew through the shudders and seemed to wrap itself around you as if it was trying to protect you. It wrapped itself around me briefly as well, telling me with it's soft and Motherly voice that she was going to be with you always, and would always protect you. It's strange...your Wind is like a sister to me, but we don't speak anymore or since that day really...I just know that she's keeping her word."_

"Jack had the power of the Wind!? He had an element of Nature protecting him!?" North's eyes widened, but there was no stopping the memory dream. So, for now, his questions would be unanswered as he continued to watch the memory dream. However, a bigger question was itching the back of his mind. "Tooth...did I hear that right? Did he say he was born on Christmas of 1698?"

"Yes...I believe we all did." She answered, blinking in shock.

Meanwhile, Bunny couldn't breathe.  _'H-He's...He's well over three hundred years old...he wasn't exaggerating...'_  He thought to himself, but was soon interrupted out of his thoughts by North.

"I know his name. This is young Jackson Overland Frost." North stated, and Tooth could only nod in confirmation as they heard Jack speak again.

_"Does it make me...I mean...some of the other kids had said..." Jack stopped eating his food, and he looked out to the pond that had fresh clean water to the point where you could see the fish in it. "Some of the other kids said...they called me a monster."_

_At that, his mother's face grew serious and hurt all at once. "You listen to me, and you listen good, Jackson Overland Frost...you are not a monster!"_

_"But...no one else can do this. No one else has the wind protecting them from dangerous falls, or has the wind whispering in their ears..."_

_"That DOES NOT make you a monster! Darling...you remember what I can do, right?"_

_"Yeah, but that's because of who Daddy was, right?"_

_"Very much so..."_

At that, Sandy's eyes widened, and he waved a hand to stop the memory dream. "Wait a minute...Jack was born in 1698? On Christmas? And with his name..." Sandy trailed off, as he almost slipped deep in thought, but was interrupted by North.

"That's what we said, Sandy." North stated as he noticed how pale Sandy had gotten, and watched as he staggered back a bit. "Sandy? What is wrong?"

"W-Well...there was a um...Manny and I were playing, but at the same time Mother Nature AND Father Time were training the spirit of youth...and...while I was inside Manny's moon beam, the three of them bumped into me while they were using their powers and in trying to CATCH the spirit of Youth who had flown away from them...they somehow returned me back to my original form, and although they profusely apologized, Manny said he would have to look into returning me into my other Sandy form...until then, he would take care of my duties as dream giver. I um...I found out that I still had my powers, but they couldn't reach as far. I had to be within twelve feet of the person I wanted to affect...and...well...at first, I thought the woman sitting in front of Jack merely looked like her...but..."

"Sandy, what are you saying?" Bunny asked, his ears twitching in anticipation as he noticed the pale look on Sandy that was quickly being accompanied by a blush.

"I...it was 1695 when that happened. She saw me wandering the village when the incident happened, and she gave me a place in her home. Then...the following year...that's when I fell in love with her...and a month later...I gathered my courage and I told her the truth about me. At first I was wondering how she could see me in the first place when she invited me into her home, but Manny explained that it was because I was somehow returned to normal and my normal form wasn't tied to belief. I...I married her near the end of 1697...but before I did...I warned her that there may be a time when she doesn't see me anymore...I told her of who I really am, and she said she would love me anyway and wanted to marry me anyway...and I...well..." Sandy swallowed a thick lump in his throat as he looked at five year old Jack with a pounding heart. "She...I...I got her pregnant not long after we got married...and I was overjoyed. Then...six months into her pregnancy...Manny apologized left and right, but said that he found a way to return me back to my other Sandy form, and that I was needed. I told her, and she understood. All that she asked of me was to keep...Oh Starshine...she...she asked me to keep our child safe and to give them sweet dreams as often as I could. Naming him Jackson...that was my idea...I..."

"Wait, wait, wait! Are you saying...the woman sitting in front of Jack having a picnic is..."

"That's Elizabeth. Her hair is much longer than it used to be, but nothing else has changed. That's my Elizabeth...I...I told her that since I may have to go away someday that I didn't think it would be right if Jack had my last name, so she said she would give him her's. Her last name was Frost before we got married. When we got married...I accidentally gave her some of my powers through our kiss...She was my first kiss and I was her's. She can use dream sand too...to an extent anyway..."

"Wait...so...are you also trying to tell us that...you're..."

"I-I...I'm..." Sandy looked at Jack with fresh tears falling from his eyes. "I'm his  _Father_...a-and I thought...I didn't dare to dream that I...by all the stars in the sky..." Sandy promptly fell to his knees as he started sobbing as he looked at Jack, allowing the tears to run freely. "I...never dared to d-dream th-that I...that I w-would see him, let alone  _KNOW_  him! W-We hadn't even known if he was g-going to b-be a he! I-If it was g-going to b-be a g-girl...I wanted her t-to be named S-Sarah Aurora Frost. I...I'm Jack's...He's my..."

Joyful tears started falling from everyone's eyes for different reasons. For North, it was because Sandy had found happiness, magic, and love with someone despite not being able to be a Guardian for some time. For Tooth it was because now he would be able to look back on the memories he DID share with Jack, and he would see them so much more differently now, and forever will. For Bunny, it was do to the amount of Hope that was practically flooding him. However, all of them cried tears of joy for both Sandy and Jack, because if they could help bring Jack back, they would have each other forever. It also meant that when Jack became a Guardian, Manny had officially reunited them. "Sandy?" North said as he and everyone else wiped away their tears. "Let's continue to go through his dreams and memories...let's save your son."

"Y-YES!" Sandy shouted as he quickly wiped away his overjoyed tears and resumed the memory dream.

_"...do you remember the stories I would tell you about your Father?"_

_"YEAH! They're my favorite stories of the Guardians!"_

"You told her about us?"

"It was when I was telling her about me." Sandy blushed lightly, and now that he knew that this woman was HIS Elizabeth, the other Guardians couldn't help but notice the look of pure love he looked at her with, and they couldn't help but smile at their friend who unwittingly got reunited with his son.

_"Right, well, when your Father married me...when he kissed me that day, it was more than just a little magical. It was COMPLETELY magical. He accidentally gave me a wonderful gift. Now, you know what I can do, right?"_

_"Yeah! You can tell when I'm sleeping or faking, and you can put me to sleep like Daddy does for all the other kids around the world. You say that you do it when he can't."_

_"That's right, but I can also still see him every now and then. I don't think he knows that I can...but I can. I can see the sand he sends to you...and I can read your dreams. Now, that makes me different, but does that make me a monster?"_

_"NO! Mama is the BEST! You're the best! NO WAY you can be a monster!"_

_"Well, then...Jack, can you do something for me, no matter what?"_

_"What is it, Mama?"_

_"If anyone, and I mean ANYONE tries to tell you that you're a monster I want you to look them in the eyes and never back down. No matter what, I want you to stand your ground, and not tell them that you're not a monster, but SHOW them you're not by simply standing tall and as strong as you can. If anyone is physically hurting you, yeah, I want you to defend yourself, but if it's just words, remember...that's all it is, and the strongest you can ever be to words...is when you stand as tall as you can no matter how much it hurts. Do you understand me, Jackson?"_

_"I understand Mama! I'll always remember in my heart! I promise!"_

_"That's good! Now, finish your food."_

There was a brief swirl of dream sand in front of them, and then then it was gone, replaced by Jack in the forest again. "This isn't a memory...but somehow...is at the same time..." Tooth mentioned, and she noticed that Jack was running through the forest, and he looked to be just a tad bit older. Perhaps by a year, and he was running through the woods.

_Soon the forest got dark, and he stopped in his tracks, looking around the darkened forest. "Hello?" He called out and reached out a hand. "W-Wind?" However, she didn't come at his command._

_"Oh! It seems I can give at least ONE child Nightmares!" Much to everyone's surprise and Sandy's fury, Pitch appeared in front of him. "Hello, what is your name, child."_

_"My name is Jackson Overland Frost." He stated proudly as he continued to look around._

_"Ah...you don't see me, but you can hear me."_

_"No, I can see you just fine." Jack replied, no longer afraid it seemed. He then looked directly at Pitch who looked back in shock._

_"You were frightened just moments ago...what happened?"_

_"Well, the thing is...I know this is a Nightmare." He stated calmly. "It's all dark, and Wind isn't here, so that means it's a Nightmare."_

_"Y-You...you're a lucid dreamer? At such a young age!?" Pitch stared at him in complete disbelief while Jack remained as calm as can be._

_"A what?" He blinked at Pitch a few times, but then he put his hands on his hips and pouted. "And HEY! Mama says it's rude to ask someone's name without saying your's!"_

_"Hmm..." Pitch chuckled lightly, but for some reason it was in genuine amusement. "My name is Pitch Black. I'm also known as the Boogeyman. You have to believe in me, otherwise I wouldn't be able to be here."_

_"OH! You're the Boogeyman! Like in Mama's stories! Well, it's very nice to meet you, Pitch!"_

_"What?"_

"WHAT!?" The Guardians shouted at the same time Pitch asked looking dumbfounded beyond belief.

_"Child, if you've heard of me, why are you not afraid?"_

_"Well, for lots of reasons. I know that you give bad dreams, you're really scary, and can be really mean if you want to be...but you're not being mean now."_

_"Child, I'm a monster! I'm always mean!" Pitch shouted as he grew taller and more frightening as he summoned darkness to shroud the dream even further, but Jack simply smiled at him and shook his head, causing him to stop._

_"You're not a monster." Suddenly, Pitch shrank back to normal size, and some of the shadows went away. Once he was to normal height, he stared at Jack with a dropped jaw, seemingly speechless. "Hey, Mr. Boogeyman...have you ever had a dream before?" Jack asked as he rocked on the back of his heels with his hands clasped innocently behind his back._

_"N-No...not since I...not for a very long time." Pitch answered honestly as he gave an intrigued brow at the boy in front of him. "Child, what are you getting at, and what do you mean I'_ _m not a monster?"_

_"Well, of course you're not a monster. This is just something you're able to do, and besides...monsters don't have conversations with children. So, there...you're not a monster, and even though what you can do is scary...it's just a part of you...that's all."_

_"I..." The Guardians all gasped as a few tears rolled down his face. Pitch wiped at the tears and was shocked to see what they were. "I am...speechless."_

_"That's okay...sometimes it's good not to say anything. At least, that's what Mama says. Anyway, you said you haven't had a dream?"_

_"Th-That's right." Pitch answered as he furrowed his brow._

_"Would you like one?"_

_"Oh? And since when did you become the Sandman?"_

_"I'm not, but this is my dream, and we're talking, and I know it's actually a Nightmare right now, but it doesn't have to stay that way. I can make it different for you, if you want?"_

_"Huh, a child giving the Boogeyman a dream. It's certainly intriguing..." Pitch brought his hand up to his chin and rubbed at it, deep in thought. "Alright, show me what you've got. Show me what dream you would create for the Boogeyman!"_ _Jack gave a smirk that all of the Guardians recognized, and he lifted his hands into the air, pushing ALL of the darkness away, making the forest lush, green, and beautiful again. It was obviously the beginnings of spring, because most of the trees still had their flowers, and they were near the pond. "My...this is remarkable...AND you somehow pushed away my darkness...you may put the Guardians out a job."_

_"Nah! They're extra special...anyway, watch this!" Jack ran through the forest and hit the palm of his hand against five trees, and much to everyone's astonishment, the flowers turned into thousands of butterflies, and with a wave of Jack's hand, they surrounded Pitch. However, the surprise didn't stop there, for some reason, Pitch started changing while the butterflies started glowing brightly. "Boogeyman?" Jack asked with a tone of worry as he got closer._

_When the butterflies flew away, everyone, including Jack gasped. In front of them stood a man dressed in similar robes that Pitch was wearing, but there was life and color in them. They looked like robes that a king would wear in his own palace. The edges were lined with gold, and there were many intricate patterns and swirls made out of gold thread that was etched onto the emerald green fabric. Beneath the robe was an emerald green shirt with a low V-neck cut that hid behind the robes, and his pants were black. However, they quickly noticed that his skin was no longer grey, but peach colored like Sandy's. As he looked at his own body, he ran a hand through his shining black hair that was hanging just past his ears, and the smile was unmistakably not the same smile that belonged to Pitch. It was a shining joyful smile rather than a sharp tooth menacing grin. "J-Jackson!? Y-You..."_

"Th-that's Kozmotis!" Sandy stuttered out as he stared back and forth at Jack and Kozmotis.

_"Are you alright, Mr. Boogeyman? Your clothes changed, and you look different, but...it's a good different...what happened?"_

_"What happened, indeed..." Kozmotis breathed out as he continued to look at his hands, and they all noticed that his voice was kinder and gentler. "You are unique, child. You have a magic that was thought to be gone for a very long time. Not even the Sandman could've done this! HA! I..." A look of an overjoyed realization crossed Pitch's features, and he held his hands to his head. "I...I don't hear them anymore. The whispers...they've stopped! I...I'm me! Here! In your dreams! I...I'm...I'm not corrupted anymore!"_

_"Wh-What magic are you talking about?" Jack asked with a slight smile at seeing how happy Pitch was._

_"Soul magic." Kozmotis answered with a pure look of gratefulness and pride. "Your lucid dream is a part of your soul...so...when you conjured the butterflies, which are a part of your lucid dream and therefore a part of you...and you had them surround me...just like when you forced the darkness away earlier...they forced the darkness away from my soul and returned me to who I used to be. I...I was trapped...for so long! I...I watched myself do horrible things to good people! Trapped inside my own mind...it was awful...but I'm not anymore...thanks to you. I don't think it'll last once I leave, but perhaps if I come back to give you a nightmare, or if it DOES somehow give me some peace in the outer world, perhaps I could come here and become myself again. Would you mind?"_

_"No, not at all. You're nice. So...you said that you used to be like this...did you have a different name?"_

_"Yes, and I'll trust it to you. My name...my true name is Kozmotis Pitchiner. Oh, Jackson, you have no idea how unique your magic is...it was magic that existed in my time. It was magic you were born with, and those that were born with it were treated like royalty. It was magic from the Golden Age...and since those who had it were treated like royalty...I'll nickname you Little Prince. Does that sound good? That way...if you should ever see me outside of a dream...if I call you anything BUT Little Prince, you know it's the Boogeyman, and I want you to run and hide, but if I call you Little Prince, you'll know it's me, and you know you'll be safe. Even if the darkness returns, they won't know of the nickname I give you, because of how much YOUR soul magic effected me."_

_"Alright, sounds good...OH! I think I'm about to wake up...it was nice to meet you Kozmotis"_

_"Oh, believe me, child...the pleasure was all mine!"_

The sand shifted like it had before, and they were in the forest again, but Sandy raised a shaky hand and stopped the dream. "Sandy?" North asked cautiously.

"H-He...Jack...he...he returned Pitch to...to Kozmotis. I thought...I thought I would never see him like that again...that was completely him...and Jack has...he has  _Soul Magic._ "

"Gotta tell ya, mate...I would've never pegged Jack as the kind to have soul magic, but after the battle with Pitch, and seein' what I just saw, it's hard to deny."

"Okay, you are both from Golden age...what is Soul Magic, and why were they treated like royalty?" North questioned as he noticed the oddly stunned looks on his two friends. He can't remember a time when he's seen them like that before, but he was going to find out why.

Sandy cleared his throat just before answering, "Well, because next to Kozmotis...they were the second most powerful beings in the universe. He was right...the only way you have Soul Magic is when you're born with it, but that's not all...you have to also be pure of heart. You have to be unbiased to light and dark. You have to know right from wrong. You're born with that knowledge...and even through self doubt or fear...whoever has soul magic will always be their truest self. They are also incapable of lying. They can read what is truly in a person's soul, they can tell the difference between what a person says and what a person feels, and they can do what Jack just did...they can banish  _evil_  darkness. However, they have to either be  _told_  they have it or  _discover_  they have it. They can't be  _raised_  or  _trained_  to have it."

"So...why is that causing your hands to shake?" North asked as he looked at Sandy with concern in his eyes.

"Because...it was like Pitch said...that magic was lost to the golden age. His darker side wiped them all out shortly after he wiped out the Pooka. It's...more than just a little impressive that Jack was born that way, but...I mean...he is  _MY_  son...so perhaps...since I'm from the Golden Age..."

"Since you're from the Golden Age...and he has your blood...he's technically  _also_  from the Golden Age..." Bunny blinked at Sandy in shock, but then a soft smile grew on his face. "Well, won't Mother Nature be pleased that there's another from the Golden Age."

"Oh..." Sandy face palmed himself. "...I don't even want to think of what she might do to the poor boy...let's continue. There's much to see." Sandy waved a hand and allowed the vision to settle itself.

"This is a memory. OH! And a happy one too!"

_"Mama! Mama! Mama! Come quick!" Jack shouted desperately as his Mother was collecting vegetables from their garden._

"Tooth, I thought you said this was a happy memory...Jack looks desperate for something." Everyone chose to ignore North's curiosity as they kept their gazes fixed on Jack.

_"What is it, sweetie!?" She shouted as she rushed after her son towards the pond._

_"Here! I kept her safe...but here! I saw a couple bring her here and then they left on horses!"_

_"Who, dear?" She asked as she slowed with Jack, but then she heard the sound of a babies cry. "Jack! Move!" She commanded, and moved towards the sound of the cries, and there, wrapped in linen, was a newborn infant. Freshly newborn by the looks of it. "You say they left on horses and just left her here?"_

_"YES!" Jack answered with a saddened expression. "Mama! She can't be alone! Oh! And I know she'll be a good person someday...but she needs a family!"_

_"Hmm..." Elizabeth hummed with a small smile on her face as she looked at the small infant in her arms. The other Guardians glanced at Sandy and noticed he had the same look in his eyes. They both instantly fell in love with the small bundle that had stopped crying. "What if we become her family then? Jack, how would you like to have a baby sister?"_

_"REALLY!? Oh, Mama! I promise to love her! I'll...OH! I know!" Jack jumped up and down and motioned for his mother to lean down to where he could see the baby, so she did. "I'll be like the Guardians for her!"_

_"Oh?" Elizabeth asked while the Guardians gasped in shock. "You'll have to be unique. North protects Wonder and magic, Sandy protects Dreams and wishes, Tooth protects Memories and important thoughts, and Bunny protects Hope and New Beginnings. Tell me, Jack...what will you protect in her?"_

_"I'll protect her Joy and Fun!" Jack jumped and cheered._

_"Then I think you would make an excellent Guardian." She smiled. "Come, we need to give her food. She must be so hungry."_

_"No! Not before you give her a name!"_

_"Oh, you are absolutely right." She stated as her eyes widened with realization._

_"What would Daddy have wanted to name her?"_

_"Good idea, Jack..." She hummed with delight, and as the Guardians watched the Memory Dream, they quickly noticed Sandy had covered his mouth with tears slowly falling from his eyes. "Her name will be Sarah Aurora Frost. We'll tell her that the two of you have the same Father, and I'll tell her his stories..."_

_"Mama? If Daddy isn't here...why will you tell her that Daddy is her Daddy too?"_

_"Because, Jack...I refuse to marry another. Also, to me, in my heart, since he never divorced me...we are still married, and Sarah is our adoptive daughter now."_

_"You still love Daddy?"_

_"I will always love him. I promised him for better or for worse and till death do us part."_


	3. Names

Once the dream sand moved to reveal another dream, Sandy stopped it once again. "Ya alright, Mate?" Bunny asked as he placed a paw on Sandy's back.

"She...she still loved me...after all that time...and...I...I had two children. A son...and a daughter...and she remembered...and she still loved me even though she couldn't see me...oh...but she said she DID see me..." Sandy couldn't stop the tears that were leaving his eyes as he held a hand to his heart. "Even now...I still love her...and to know that she still felt the same...you don't know what that means to me."

"I'm sure." Bunny smiled. "C'mon...let's go through his dreams some more."

"Right." Sandy nodded. He waved his hand and allowed it to begin.

"This is a memory." Tooth told them, and they all watched intently as they noticed it was dark out.

_"Hello?" Jack called out, and he seemed to be about ten with how tall he had gotten._

_"Little Prince?" They heard Pitch's voice call from the darkness. Soon, it wasn't Pitch, but Kozmotis who came out of the darkness and held his arms open wide with a joyful smile._

_"KOZZY!" Jack shouted with pure delight as he ran into Kozmotis' arms. "I haven't seen you in forever!"_

_"Yes, well...that's because the darkness is trying to reverse what you did. So, how's that little sister of yours?"_

_"Oh! She's great! She's four now! Oh! And she LOVES snow! Mama said that when I'm fourteen and she's eight then she can go skating with me! I'm ten now, so it won't be too far away!"_

_"That will certainly be something to look forward to, but I have to ask...why are you out here so late at night. You should be in bed with sweet dreams from the Sandman." Kozmotis gave him a patient look mixed in with a worried furrowed brow._

_"I was comforting Sarah, because she had a bad dream, but then I saw you come and wrap a weird rope around the Nightmare horse and you told it that it was not allowed to attack our family. It blended into the shadows...it was scared of you, and once it was gone, I saw you look back at our house with a sad face. I wanted to see if you were okay." Jack pulled out of the hug and ran a hand through his hair as he looked to the ground._

_"I'm fine, Jackson." Jack's hand stopped and his eyes opened wide. The Guardians remembered the promise Kozmotis made to him and they all gasped._

_"NO!" Jack yelled and immediately ran for his home. "WIND! TAKE ME HOME!" Jack shouted, and without hesitation, Jack was lifted into the air, and plopped firmly at the front of his house. "Okay, okay..." He breathed out as he quietly rushed into his room. "Kozzy said that the darkness hates the light..." He whispered out as he quickly grabbed something from his drawer and lit two candles in his room. He then went into Sarah's room and did the same to her one candle, and then he went into his Mother's room and lit her three candles. Finally, he made it back to his room and looked outside his window. When he saw Pitch he stuck his tongue out, and earned a fierce glare that they knew all too well._

The sand shifted and now they were at the pond during daylight. _"Be careful!" Elizabeth said while Sarah tugged on Jack's arm._

_He let out soft chuckles. "We will!" He said as he then started to follow her._

"This is a memory!" Tooth said quickly as she watched a delighted Jack and Sarah make their way to the ice.

"My children...they've grown so much..." Sandy whispered out, but let the memory dream continue.

"Jack looks the age he does now..." North mentioned, getting a sinking feeling in his belly.

_"So, Jack! You're fourteen now, and today is your birthday! Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas and for your birthday?"_

_"Of course I did! North would never NOT know what his believers wanted for Christmas...don't you see it?" He held it out in front of him._

_"Oh yeah! You said you wanted a new staff for Christmas."_

_"Yeah, I just didn't expect it from Santa."_

"Uh...North?" Bunny asked as he turned to North, but the man's eyes were wide with shock.

Sandy stopped the memory dream and tapped North on the shoulder. "North?"

"I...I remember that gift...I...Jack wrote me a letter for that gift. He asked for a new staff, because his last one broke due to playing and he needed a new one to do work outside...I didn't want to give a child a working tool...but he said he always had so much fun with his last staff...I couldn't help it. I went to Father Time's tree in Santoff Clausen...and I got a small branch...he didn't mind, he knew it was a gift for someone...and I carved a shepherd's staff like he wanted. I...Even when I met Jack...I had no idea he was same boy!" Sandy nodded his head and resumed the memory dream.

_"Well, are you happy with it?"_

_"Yeah! Now, come on...let me help you with your skates." Jack set his staff down for a bit, and did as he said he would. He helped her with her skates, but quickly noticed that she rushed out onto the ice. "SARAH! NO!" Jack shouted and with his skates still on his shoulder, he grabbed his staff and made his way out onto the ice barefoot. "You need to wait for..." Then, they all heard it. A sickening crack, Jack lost his staff to the side, and Sarah was frozen still. Jack and Sarah both looked beneath them. Jack slowly placed his skates on the ice, and stared at Sarah with fear, concern, worry, and protectiveness in his eyes._ _"It's okay It's okay...Don't look down...just look at me." He pleaded as he put his hand over his racing heart._

_"Jack...I'm scared..." Her feet shifted slightly, causing the ice to continue to crack._

_"I...I know...I know..." He looked down as the ice beneath him began to crack as well. "...But you're going to be alright. you're not gonna fall in. Uh...We're gonna have a little fun instead!" He stated, trying to sound reassuring._

_"No we're not!"_

_"Would I trick you?" He asked as he tried to inch forward as gently as he could._

_"Yes! You always play tricks!"_

_"Well..." Jack laughed out nervously. "Alright...well...Well not this time. I promise...I promise you're gonna be...you're gonna be fine. You have to believe in me..." The Guardians gasped in shock at his words, but no one dared to say anything. "You wanna play a game?" Jack asked as he tried to stand up straighter. "We're gonna play hopscotch. Like we play everyday. I-It's as easy as uh...one..." He winced as the ice cracked some more but he smiled at his sister before her hopes of being okay could be dashed, but then he felt himself lose his balance. "Whoa...Two..." He said as he gently gained his gracefulness once more. "THREE!" He shouted happily as he took a big side step to his staff. "Alright...now it's your turn. One..." Sarah inched her foot forward, and there were more cracks. "That's it that's it...Two..." When she moved again, the cracks became harsher. "Three." He whispered out as he used the crook of his staff to yank her away and onto more solid ice, unintentionally trading places with her. He sat up quickly and laughed as he saw her smile, but just as he was about to get up, the ice cracked violently beneath him, causing him to sink like a stone. The Guardians watched as he sank lower and lower, losing his breath, and then slowly but surely, losing his heart beat as his eyes closed._

_Nightmare rushed through in a second, which of course would happen, it's a dream, and they saw Manny's moon beam shine on him, turning his hair white, and as he opened his eyes, they were the stunning ice blue they knew. Once he was pulled out of the pond, Jack took in a deep breath of air, and they all heard Manny's voice. **"Your name is Jackson Overland Frost, but others will know you as Jack Frost."**  He stated and then slowly set Jack back down._

Sandy quickly paused the memory dream as he noticed the dream was about to change. As soon as it stopped, he fell to his knees and immediately started crying into his hands. "J-Jack! N-No!"

"Sandy, he's still here. He's with us...I...this is  _one of_  the  _most_  heartbreakin' things I've ever seen...but...he's with us...and he's hangin' on by a thread. He needs ya now, mate." Bunny placed his paw on Sandy's back again, and allowed him to cry it out some more, but soon became relieved when he stood up and silently waved for the dream to continue with tears still in his eyes.

"This is a dream...but...it's a memory of a dream...he's had this dream before...and it...it was like real life. It's like when Kozmotis would visit him, but it's somehow more powerful than before..." Tooth told them with a confused expression.

_Jack was walking through the woods he usually walked in, and then they saw Pitch dressed as Kozmotis appear. "Little Prince? You look different."_

_Jack turned around and saw him. He gave him a curious glance as he hugged his staff tightly. The staff that North had given him. "I...you...you look familiar..."_

_"Little Prince?" Then, a brief look of realization crossed his features, and his face became sad and sympathetic. "Oh no..."_

_"What?"_

_"Little Prince, tell me what's your earliest memory." He requested with caution, seemingly knowing the answer._

_"M-My earliest memory? And why do you keep calling me Little Prince?"_

_"I have my reasons for calling you that...now please?"_

_"Okay well...I was in a pond...in water...and the Moon pulled me out and gave me a name. My name's Jack Frost."_

_"You don't remember me?" He asked carefully._

_"No, I'm sorry...but you do look familiar."_

_"I'm glad you at least think me familiar." Pitch stated with a nervous chuckle. "My name is Kozmotis, and I felt you dreaming...so I decided to come and visit you."_

_"Oh...well...it's nice to meet you. Say...you wanna see a trick?" Jack asked with pure delight in his eyes as he clutched his staff in excitement._

_"Sure, why not." Pitch gave a gentle smile, but it quickly shifted into a gape of shock as Jack shifted the dream, and he ran through trees, tapping them with his staff, sending frost up the tree, causing the flowers to turn into butterflies that flew up into the sky and started to surround both of them. "Y-You're still you it seems."_

_"What was that?"_

_"Oh, I said it's beautiful to see."_

_"Isn't it!? I figured out I could do this in my dreams when I stumbled over something in a different dream, and I wanted a cloud to catch me...so it did."_

_"It's beautiful, Little Prince. Now, I should be leaving."_

The Sand shifted, changing the vision with it, and suddenly, Jack was flying through the air. "This is a memory." Tooth stated calmly, trying not to stay on the fact that Jack had died, and then dreamed about Kozmotis...and forgetting him...and she hadn't helped him in all that time.

_"Whoa! What is this stuff!?" Jack asked with pure laughter in his voice as he watched dream sand float in front of him. 'Hmm...something tells me to follow it...' Jack thought, and to the surprise of everyone, but Sandy, they heard his thoughts. Jack followed the golden trail of Sand until it led him to Sandy jumping around on his cloud, pushing out dream sand. "Hello?" Jack asked, startling Sandy and causing him to quickly turn around to face him. "Oh, sorry...didn't mean to frighten you. What is this stuff?"_

_Sandy dropped his jaw at Jack's comment and the fact that the teenager was flying. "I-It's dream sand." He stated with his symbols, but Jack wasn't looking. So, he thought that he didn't know what he said, but then Jack smiled._

_"Dream sand? What's dream sand?" Jack asked, and he looked up to a more than bewildered Sandy._

_"Wait...can you understand me?"_

_"What do you mean 'understand' I hear you just fine. You're just not moving your mouth that's all."_

Sandy stopped the memory dream for the benefit of everyone. "He understood you?" Bunny asked with wide eyes.

"It must be because Jack is his son!" Tooth squeaked out. "Jack shares half of him and half of his mother. That must be it!"

"Yes, he understood me...and I have to agree with Tooth on this one. It's the only logical conclusion...but now with what I know...a lot of the memories Jack and I shared together make more sense, and I'm sure we'll see some...but...to think...I was talking with my son for all these years. My best friend...is my son..." He let out a soft chuckle as he looked fondly at Jack floating near the dream cloud.

"Hey...did he introduce himself to ya as Jack Frost?" Bunny asked.

"Yes, and at the time...I had really and truly thought that Manny had given him that name. So...Manny and I weren't on speaking terms until AFTER the battle with Pitch. I was there for the crystal thing, and knew how important it was when he shines through the North Pole, but I wasn't speaking to him. I thought it was cruel to give a spirit the same name I wanted to give my son. I hadn't known at the time if Elizabeth had a boy or a girl, and I'm not like North and Tooth...I don't know the names of those I give dreams to. I just know what dreams go to which face. I had no way of knowing that I was talking to my son. I thought it was just a new spirit with the name I wanted my son to have." Before anyone could say anything else, Sandy waved his hand to resume the memory dream.

_"How intriguing..." Sandy hummed lightly, causing Jack to smile a bit. "As a spirit, how old are you?"_

_"Let's see...The Man in the Moon gave me my name on Christmas of 1712...so...fifty years old. I'll be fifty-one on Christmas."_

_"Okay one, I find it strange that you're going to be fifty-one this year and you haven't seen me or my sand."_

_"I usually stick to flying during the day. I rest at night...it's just tonight I couldn't sleep. It's the first time since getting my name that I haven't been able to sleep."_

_"Alright..." Sandy blinked in shock. "Two, I find it hard to believe that Manny would name a spirit ON Christmas, and three how have I not noticed you sleeping?"_

_"Hmm...well, I can't lie...I've tried it before when Mother Nature caught me sneaking a cookie from her kitchen...I tried to lie, but I couldn't...so I can't. I also tried lying to the fire spirit about my favorite holiday, but I couldn't then either...I can't lie, so everything I tell you is the complete truth...and I don't know how you haven't noticed me sleeping, but I do dream. Hey, I hear the other spirits talk about someone that Guards dreams. Is that you?"_

_"Yes. I'm known as the Sandman, but most call me Sandy."_

_"Nope, unacceptable...that can't be your real name." Jack chuckled out as he decided to sit on the dream cloud, much to Sandy's surprise. "So, what's your real name?"_

_"I...how are you doing that?"_

_"Doing what? Sitting?" Jack asked as he looked down at his legs._

_"Well, yes, because unless I deliberately want you to sit there, you shouldn't be able to sit on my cloud. You should just pass through it. Wind control or not, it would become like quicksand to you."_

_"Huh...I dunno. Just lucky, I guess. Maybe I'm meant to be here. So, what's your real name?"_

_"Names are important things, Jack. If I give you my real name, you have to promise me you'll never misuse it, or use it in front of anyone else. You will only be allowed to say it when it's just you and me. If I trust you with my name, and my trust is or will be misplaced...you will be in severe pain. I don't think you want..."_

_"So, what's your name?" Jack grinned confidently. "I'm not about to break the trust of the only other spirit to be kind to me other than Mother Nature. I told you...I cannot lie...so...I promise I will never betray your trust."_

_"Y-You really want to know...don't you?"_

_Jack rolled his eyes and gave a slight smirk that had the other Guardians gasp, because he so obviously had Sandy's smirk it was nearly ridiculous. "I wouldn't have asked more than once if I didn't."_

_"F-Fine...My real name is Sanderson Mansnoozie."_

_Sandy noticed that Jack gained a perplexed expression, and watched as he started to hold his head. Sandy let out a sigh, and waited for the pain to come to Jack that seemed to be on it's way, but when he heard Jack speak, he couldn't even focus on dream sand. "Sanderson...why does that sound familiar..." Jack trailed off with a furrowed brow._

_"Y-You s-said my name...and you're okay!"_

_"Well of course I'm okay!" Jack sent a fake offended look. "Now...why does your name sound familiar..."_

_"Perhaps you've heard it as a mortal's name. Lots of mortals are named Sanderson."_

_"Yeah..." Jack shrugged. "Perhaps you're right."_

_"So, are you going to tell me you're name?" Sandy questioned with a slight smirk._

_"Like...my real name?"_

_"I...only if you want to, but I was wondering what others know you by."_

_"Well, I guess my true name would be the longer version of my name, right?"_

_Sandy's dream sand cloud flickered a few times due to the amount of astonishment he was feeling at Jack's lack of hesitation to tell him his true name. "W-Well...yes."_

_"Okay...Well, I'm known as Jack Frost, but my full name is Jackson Overland Frost."_

_"Is it now..." Sandy growled out as he sent a glare to the moon._

_"Sandy? What's wrong?"_

_"Nothing...the Man in the Moon gave you the name of someone I...someone I WANTED to care for. Someone important to me."_

_"Oh...I'm sorry." Jack pouted, and for some reason, Sandy couldn't stand that look, so he walked over to Jack and tilted his head up so that he would look him in the eyes._

_"It's not your fault, Jack. Although...I believe Manny has lost my trust and friendship for a very long time. You see...he knew how important that name was to me...but, if he should've given it to anyone...I guess I can be content that he gave it to the ONE spirit that can understand and HEAR me. Please, don't take my anger to heart, Jack. It is only directed towards Manny. Please...tell no one of this."_

_"I promise. Anything you tell me, unless you say that I'm allowed to say, I won't say at all. Think of me as your secret box where even the bad thoughts go. I'll listen and tell no one...that way you don't keep it bottled up. It's bad to keep things bottled up."_

_Sandy moved away to give more dreams as he sent Jack a quick smile. "I can do that...if you'll do the same. I can be the same for you if you like."_

_"Wait...does that make us friends?"_

_"I believe it does. Is that so..." Sandy turned around and his dream giving stopped to a halt. The sand immediately retreated back into the cloud as Sandy took in the sight of tears on Jack's face, and he found himself moving forward for some reason as he wiped away the tears. "Now what are these for?" He asked in a soft and caring voice as he wiped away the last tear._

_"I...I don't have friends. I've been burned, scratched, poisoned, stabbed, electrocuted, punched, kicked, and..."_

_"By the stars, JACK! Stop!" Sandy shouted as tears of his own started to fall. "Wh-Why am I crying now?" He said aloud. 'And why does my heart hurt!?' He thought desperately._

"Um...yeah...Jack can also read my thoughts, and I can read his..." Sandy briefly explained.

_"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I don't know why your heart hurts..."_

_That caught Sandy's attention as he stared at Jack with widened eyes. "You...can you hear my thoughts?"_

_"Well, considering I heard you without the symbols...I guess so...I'm sorry..."_

_"N-No...you um...that's interesting, but no...you misunderstood...it hurt that you've been through all of that for such a short period of time as a spirit...how did those come about?"_

_"You really want to know?"_

_"Yes, I really do." Sandy answered as he nodded his head with a look of pure heartbreak._

_"Well...Mother Nature found me one day and..."_

_"SHE DID THAT TO YOU!?"_

_"NO! She's like a sister! She's sweet, kind, intelligent, funny, mischievous, and she even let's me ride the two reign deer that North gave her!"_

_"My...she must think highly of you if she let you ride Donner and Blitzen..."_

_"She says I'm like the little brother she's always wanted." Jack beamed as he looked down at the sand he was sitting on, not noticing Sandy's bewildered expression. "Anyway, Mother Nature found me one day, and asked me to become her General of Winter. I asked her what the was, and she told me that I would be in charge of Winter stuff. She said she wasn't going to tell me anything else until I accepted...and well...I had nothing better to do...so I accepted her offer. She was very shocked at first, but she calmed soon after...and she told me that I'm basically the King of Winter...anyway...after that...some of her other spirits weren't happy with me being the King or General of Winter...mostly because they just didn't like winter. I have my Winter spirits...the Snow Queen is nice...but she tried to ask me to marry her. When I told her no, she was still nice, but we're more co-workers than friends. So...the General of Summer got his fire spirits to burn me...badly...I think Mother Nature called them third degree burns...I had to stay down for all of spring and summer. The tiger animal spirits clawed at me...the General of spring poisoned me with nightshade dipped thorns...and thankfully Mother Nature got to me in time, and yeah...she was punished so badly...she's not even a spirit anymore since she didn't just try to injure me like the other General, but she tried to kill me...genuinely kill me. Everyone else after that were just random spirits that didn't belong to her. The spirits that belonged to her stopped hurting me after she eliminated the General of Spring. Anyway...yeah...I...I don't have friends, and I only really see her during Spring and Fall...and even then, I don't see her much, and...WHOA! When did we get to Europe!?"_

_"A-All of that happened to you?" Sandy asked with a shaking voice as he delivered dreams._

_"Yeah, but it's fine."_

_"It most certainly is NOT fine!" Sandy growled out, surprising even himself._

_"Yeah, it is, and do you want to know why?"_

_"Actually, yeah, I want to know why you think that's fine!"_

_"It's because no matter how many times they called me a monster, blamed me for the deaths of thousands, and told me how I was unwanted among all spirits...I stood tall, and said nothing. I stood my ground and stayed myself. I've heard other spirits living for a very long time...like much longer than normal humans...so...if I'm going to spend what others call 'Eternity' as a spirit...I might as well stay as much myself as I can be."_

The vision started to change, but Sandy quickly stopped it before it could alter any. "H-He remembered Elizabeth's advice...but he did not have memories, yes?" North questioned with a quizzical expression.

"He made a promise to never forget, and his soul magic made him keep that promise by making it a part of his personality." Sandy answered proudly. "My goodness...I didn't even know he was  _my son_  at the time and I was instantly getting angry like a Father would if they heard their child had gone through such hardships..."

"Ya were a natural, Sandy, and ya didn't even know it. Now, come...more dreams! I got find SOME kind of dirt on Jack in here."


	4. Home

Sandy rolled his eyes and resumed the dream, and to his delight, he remembered this dream, because he read it. "This is a dream." Sandy and Tooth said in unison.

_Jack was not in a lush green forest in this dream, but he was flying over North's work shop with a giddy smile on his face. "North Pole! Snow! YES!" He shouted, and proceeded to create a blizzard over the place, and out came North with a hearty laugh. "See ya, North!" Jack shouted after he was done creating the blizzard, and then the dream shifted._

"It was a short dream...he dozed off on my dream cloud."

Once the sand fell, North tilted his head and he knew this was a memory, and he quickly stepped closer to Tooth and away from Sandy. "This...is memory." North stated with guilt in his eyes, and Sandy did not like the amount of guilt there.

_"A blizzard! On Christmas! Normally I would be happy, but it's Christmas! North has to fly in this!" Jack shouted, and immediately moved to control the blizzard. Just as he was getting it under control, Jack was knocked out of the sky by one of the rein deer, and North didn't stop._

_"You should not be in flight path Winter spirit! It is Christmas! You should know that!" The dream flickered some, and they were soon following Jack's frantic decent down...without his staff._

_'Staff...need...to...fly...I...can't...fly...without...staff...I...so tired...oh...my head...' His thoughts trailed off, but before he could totally blank out, to all of their surprise, a yeti caught him just before he hit the ground and then another caught his staff before it smashed to the ground. 'Furry...soft...warm...can't...be...Bunny...he...hates me...probably...wants...me...dead...hmm...smells like...peppermint...and...chocolate...and...oak wood.' Jack then snuggled into the Yeti's arms. "Phil...reindeer...hit...me. Don't...be...mad...at...North. It...was...my...fault. It...was...accident. I'm...so...tired. My...head hurts..." The vision blinked which signified that he was dreaming of what he remembered happened after that. Suddenly, Jack was in a very large and warm bed._

Before the memory dream could continue, Sandy harshly waved his hand at it to stop it, and immediately glared daggers at North. "Would it have mattered if it was any other spirit, or did you KNOW who you hit!?" Sandy crossed his arms, sand swirling angrily around his feet like a small tornado.

"I-I...I knew who I hit. I...I regretted it as soon as I saw him falling, but I was already going through portal. I didn't know yeti caught him...I thought he lived through that by luck...I..."

"You knew who you hit!" Sandy quickly interrupted with a broken heart. "So, I'm assuming you apologized to Jack for it?"

"N-No...but...I did get an earful from Mother Nature. That's when I found out that he was her General of Winter...but that didn't matter to me. I could care less about his title, when I knew that I had hurt him...and to the extent that I hurt him...I haven't apologized...because I don't deserve forgiveness for that."

"Well, at least there's that, and Bunny!" Sandy quickly turned to face Bunny, but he could tell that he was wallowing in his own self pity.

"I..."

"Bunny...did you want him dead?"

"NO! I didn't! I...I didn't like the larriken, but I didn't want him DEAD! Although...with the things I've said to him over the years...I can see why he thought that."

"You know..." Sandy sighed out angrily. "I'm glad we're going through these. It's good self reflection for all of you." Sandy waved his hand and allowed the memory dream to continue.

_Jack woke up in the bed and looked around. Then, the door opened, and Phil the Yeti walked through. "Phil! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bother you."_

_"You didn't bother me, Jack."_

"HE CAN UNDERSTAND YETI!?" North shouted in bewilderment.

"Apparently." Sandy whispered out in shock, but there was also a hint of pride in his voice.

_"Yeah, well...if I had been a bit lower in trying to get rid of the blizzard. I knew it was Christmas, and that's why I tried to get rid of it. I didn't want North to have a difficult flight. The children need him."_

_"The children need you too, you know." Phil huffed out as he sat in a large chair next to the bed, and that's when everyone noticed that the room was homey, and even had a fireplace. They soon realized that it was made for Jack when they saw that there were carvings of snowflakes on the walls._

_Jack let out a sigh and flopped back onto the bed. "No they don't. I'm not needed. I'm barely wanted. You know...I still don't know why you won't let me into the work shop."_

_"I can't Jack. North's rules."_

_"But his rules are based on RUMOR! They aren't even true!"_

_"I know...and I'm sorry, and just so you know...you ARE needed. If not by children, at least by us yeti. You've taught us at least twenty-five different recipes for North's meals."_

_"Oh! How did he like the pot roast? Mother Nature and I worked on that one together."_

_"He loved it so much, he demanded that we make it every other Wednesday." Phil stated as he let out yettish chuckles. "However, we need you for more than that. You're great with tools, you help carve some of the wooden toys, you help paint them, test them, and you even added a few good adjustments to them...all without North knowing." Phil let out a heavy sigh. "I wish he knew you like we, Sandy, and Mother Nature know you."_

_"Honestly...having you, your family, Sandy, and Mother Nature...I'm fine. It's more than I could've ever expected. So...what did you give me to stop my head from hurting?"_

_"The same medicine we give North for hangovers after New Years Eve parties."_

_"YUCK! How did you get me to WILLINGLY take THAT!?"_

_"You were in an out of it, so we took our small victory. You know, Jack...this..." Phil sighed as he looked around the room. "I made this room for you. You can live here rather than your pond. You can have four walls, a roof, meals, and a home. The Yeti welcome you with open arms. You know this."_

_"Yeah, I know, and I'm glad that you gave me this necklace..." Jack pulled out a small circular pendant that looked like a snow globe. "...I'm glad it tells you if I get hurt and where I got hurt...and I'm glad I have this room...but I dunno...I...I think I already have a home, and it doesn't have four walls and a roof, and it's not my pond either."_

_"Ah...Mother Nature's Domain, then?"_

_"No, not there either. It's far too grand for me. I go there like when I come here. If I need to get away from the heat, or if there's bad storms brewing that I can't fly straight in...or if there's spirits out and about that I KNOW don't like me...but it's not a home. I...I know where my home is...and I don't even deserve to call it home, but...for some reason...it's like...it's like everything in my heart and soul calls it home. I feel safe, warm, happy, and I can actually get some sleep there."_

_"May I ask where this place is?"_

_"I...I would rather not say where it is. I'm afraid I may lose it if I do."_

_"I can understand that. Well, you should get some rest. You still have a bit of a concussion from Dasher's hoof."_

_"Alright."_

Sandy allowed the memory dream to shift, and to his surprise, it was another Memory. "This is a memory." Sandy and Tooth said once again in unison.

_Jack was laying on the dream cloud and he was looking up at the stars, seeming content. "Hey, Jack...?" Sandy questioned cautiously as he pushed dream tendrils of sand out of his cloud._

_"Hmm?" He asked as his staff was next to him, out of his hand, and his hands were behind his head._

_"I'm just curious...because you spend so much time here...what do you think of the dream cloud. I mean...judging from how you're able to let go of your staff and still be so content...you must like it a lot and consider we met a full hundred years ago...and it's 1862 now...I'm just curious..."_

_"Well...it's not so much of what I think of the dream cloud, but what I think of you WITH the dream cloud. It's nothing without you...so I guess...it's what I feel when I'm near you."_

_"Oh? And what would that be?" Sandy asked with amusement as he carefully divided the tendrils into more intricate strands._

_"Hmm...Safe, Warm, Happy, and...well...here...I can get genuine sleep. I can actually fall asleep here."_

With widened eyes and a pounding heart that could rival any drum, Sandy raised a shaking hand to stop the memory dream, and he stared at the vision before him. "H-He...he considered my dream cloud... _HOME!?_ "

"Nah, mate...you heard wrong." Bunny answered with a slightly proud smile as he noticed the slow tears falling from Sandy's cheeks. "He considered  _YOU_  home. The dream cloud is just where he sits, like a chair in a living room, or I guess in his case, a bed in a room."

"Jack said his heart and soul called you home. I am thinking...perhaps Jack's soul knew who you were to him." North sent a small smile his way with a slight tilt of his head.

"That...is very possible." Sandy stated with pure wonder, that left North grinning like a fool. Without looking at North, he waved his hand for the memory dream to continue, but it simply shifted to something else.

"This is a dream." Tooth stated with hints of excitement in her eyes.

_"Come on, Sandy!" Jack laughed joyously as they raced through trees, cars, and cities. "Come on!"_

_"I'm coming!" Sandy shouted with just as much joy as they practically raced each other. "Jack, you know it will be there when we get there, right? We'll be ten minutes early at this rate!"_

_"I know, and I don't care! I wanna see! I wanna go! Come on! You know how much I've been wanting to go!"_

_Sandy caught up to him and gave him a soft smile with a slight shake of his head. "Yes, Jack, I know, but that doesn't mean you have to act like it'll disappear."_

_"Oh, come on! You know you want to see my face when I see it for the first time!"_

_"Perhaps, but it's not like you won't see them again. It's every year, Jack."_

_"I KNOW!" He belted out a laugh as he did a quick back flip before catching up to Sandy. "But it's the first time I get to see them!"_

_"Alright, alright." Sandy chuckled. "Well, we're here."_

_"Ah...New York!" Jack said as Sandy slowed down. Then, he proceeded to sit on Sandy's cloud with an excited look in his eyes. "Sandy, are we far enough away, or are we too close?"_

_"We're far away enough." Sandy grinned as he too decided to sit on his cloud. "Now, just wait."  
_

_The dream blinked and suddenly there was a countdown. "THREE! TWO! ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" And the people beneath them cheered as fireworks were set off and begun to lit up the sky._

_"It's so beautiful, Sandy!"_

_"Yes, it is, and now a new year has begun. 1950. Feels like yesterday we became friends, doesn't it?" Sandy asked him as he happily sat back on a his dream cloud._

_"Nope." Jack stated with a wide grin. "It feels like a hundred and eighty-eight years ago. You know...you've become more than a friend to me, Sandy."_

_"Oh?" Sandy questioned with widened eyes. "And what would that be?"_

_"You became the Father I never had. I love you, Sandy. Thank you for bringing me to New York to watch the fireworks."_

Sandy waved a hand at the memory to stop it, and he found himself crying uncontrollably. "Oh, Jack...if we had both only known!"

"I thought you and Tooth said this was a dream. That looked like a memory." Bunny mentioned as he crossed his arms while still holding onto the staff.

"It should've been a memory. I WISH it would've been a memory." Sandy shook his head as he looked down at his shoes as he tried to wipe his tears. "I...I had told him that I would take him, but then when it came time to meet up...I was trapped at North's New Years Eve party, and I knew I wouldn't make it in time. The next day...Jack did something far worse than get angry with me...it shattered me that day, but it also strengthened our friendship."

"Wh-What did he do?" Tooth asked carefully with worried eyes. She had never heard Sandy sound so broken except for when they watched Jack die, but other than that, she had never heard him sound this way, and it was breaking her own heart at simply hearing the cracks in his voice.

"He forgave me. I was worried...SO worried that he would hate me, or we wouldn't be friends anymore. He told me for a whole year how much he was looking forward to New Year's and I  _wasn't there!_  I lost track of time, and by the time I realized how late it was getting...I had already let him down. The next day, I saw him flying past me, and I rushed towards him, and apologized profusely...I...I remember my voice was shaking, because at the time it felt like I had just risked losing a lot more than a friendship and well...now I know why...but he just gave me a tight hug and said he forgave me. He told me he didn't go, because it wouldn't have felt right without me. It hurt so much and all I could do was hug him back, desperately holding onto whatever I was so afraid to lose, and it took everything I had not to sob into his shoulder. From then on...I made a promise to myself and to Jack that I would be there for him, no matter what. Even if he was just the slightest bit upset, I would be there for him, and I knew it was ridiculous to say, but my heart wouldn't let me say anything else...and now that I see this...my heart feels like it's breaking and getting stronger all over again. When we DID attend New Year's together...it looked like he wanted to say something to me, but he didn't...and I can't help but feel that perhaps this was what he wanted to say, and oh...if he HAD said that...even without me knowing what I know now...I don't think I would be able to hold back any amount of tears, because it would've been like gaining the son I thought I lost, but now...oh...now...I  _HAVE_  gained the son I thought I lost, and if we don't hurry and find the source of what's happened to him...I...I don't know what I'll do."

"We'll save him, Sandy." Bunny stated as he looked back to the dream. He clutched the staff tighter to his chest as he felt his heart pounding for the brother he never thought he would have again. Jack reminded him SO much of his little brother that was coincidentally a Snow Pooka, and the thought of completely losing him after JUST realizing that...it twisted something in an ugly way in his chest. "We have to. Come on...more dreams to see..."

"Right." Sandy replied as he wiped his tears. Once they were wiped, again, he waved at the memory, and watched as it shifted. "This..." Sandy breathed out with widened eyes as the sand that shifted to a new vision turned black and then vanished. "This...it's a nightmare..."

"... _and_  a memory." Tooth gasped.

"Wait, does that mean...this nightmare actually happened!?" Bunny asked with a nasty twist of foreboding worry crawling it's way into his chest.

"Yes." Sandy answered, and they all watched as Jack flew through the sky.

_"Oh! It's Easter! I wonder what he's painted the eggs like this year!" Jack hummed with excitement as he rode his staff through the air like one of the many snowflakes he commands to fall in his flurries._

_"JACK FROST!" A shrill voice called out, causing him to stop in mid air._

_"Hello?" He asked as noticed a woman dressed in an emerald green dress. "I don't believe we've met."_

_"Oh! But I know OF you! You enjoy causing WINTER where it's NOT MEANT TO BE! What are you doing here!?"_

_"And a good morning to you too, miss." Jack rolled his eyes with a furrowed brow, quickly growing irritated._

_Soon, another spirit came into view and this one was wearing a red dress similar to the others' green. "You need to leave, Frost!"_

_"Like hell I will!" He spat. "I won't disappear, just because you don't like me. Besides, it's Easter and I want to see what kind of eggs the Easter Bunny puts out this year."_

_"AWE! Isn't that CUTE!" The red one spat out. "He thinks he's allowed to see the eggs!"_

_"What do you mean...allowed?" Jack asked as he furrowed his brow._

_"You're a WINTER spirit!" The green one laughed out wickedly._

_"Um...not just a winter spirit. I'm the General of Winter, and the two of you MUST be new."_

_"Oh, and WE'RE supposed to believe that YOU'RE the General of Winter? Oh, Mother will have your head on a platter."_

_"Oh, but she won't." Jack chuckled low and dangerously. "Now, please leave."_

_"Make us!" They demanded in unison._

_"What?" He blinked at them wide eyed in shock._

_"We said make us!" The green one shouted with a wicked grin. "If you're so powerful then it should be no issue for you."_

_"My powers are not a parlor trick or a form of amusement! It is Easter! I WILL NOT USE THEM IN A BATTLE TODAY!" Jack shouted, his voice echoing in the air, and his fury nearly tangible._

_"S-Senna...I think we should go." The red one stated as she took a good long hard look at the state of rage they put Jack in._

_"Quiet, LuLu!"_

_"You should listen to your friend." Jack warned._

_"Oh really...well...I am a spirit of spring...I can just make you leave." Her grin grew even wider, and the red one fled as fast as she could, being apparently all talk, or wise. Senna, the green one, conjured vines with razor sharp thorns on them and started whipping at Jack._

_"What...did...I ever...do...to you!?" Jack questioned as he swiftly dodged every whip._

_"YOU EXIST! Your season kills, it destroys, it makes people sick, it makes CHILDREN sick! Oh, I bet the Easter Bunny would get a kick out of you! If he saw you near the children, I bet that would end all of our problems! Come! Let's get you closer!" She cackled as she flew towards him, causing him to retreat towards the trees, but when he saw that she could cut the limbs down, he knew that she could inadvertently kill a child._

_"NO!" He shouted and then pushed back towards her, causing HER to retreat this time. "I WILL NOT LET YOU RISK THE LIVES OF CHILDREN!" Jack spun his staff in his hand, quickly summoning a snow storm in almost the blink of an eye, and the blizzard started._

"C-Crikey! This is...this is the blizzard of '68! N-NO!" Bunny nearly sobbed, remembering what he had said and done to the poor boy that he barely knew. The boy that, now that he looked back at everything, he had no right to know.

_"Oh-Ho!? Look at what you've done! I can't wait to tell Mother about this, and about you posing as the General of Winter."_

_"SENNA!" Mother Nature's voice was heard and it was fierce._

_"Oh, Mother! Good of you to come. One of your spirits has been caught lying! Oh, and he caused a blizzard on Easter."_

_"Senna, I saw everything, and when I find LuLu, we will discuss whether you are allowed to remain a spirit for how you've treated THE KING OF WINTER!"_

_"Emily...don't take away her being a spirit. Just make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else." Jack stated calmly, but the use of her name had the Guardians gasping in shock._

_"You should thank him, Senna. He is the only reason why I spare you."_

_"Wh-Why!? Why would you listen to him!? General or not...YOU rule over HIM!"_

_Mother Nature quickly grabbed the back of Senna's hair and pulled hard, yanking her head back. "I have made it clear in the Domain that I DO NOT rule over ANYONE! Least of all HIM! He is like a brother to me! Now, go back to the domain! If I even catch a hint of you trying to escape punishment, I may rethink Jack's mercy."_

_"Y-Yes ma'am!"_

_"BLOODY HELL!" Bunny could be heard cursing as he jumped out of a hole, just one hour before the children would arrive._

_"Jack, I know him. Do you want me to..."_

_"No..." Jack sighed out. "...it was my fault anyway. I should've had better control of my temper."_

_"That wasn't anger, Jack...that was protectiveness. It's a shame you aren't a Guardian...you have the heart of one."_

_"Thanks...but no. I really don't." Jack gave her a sad smile, and with that, both Mother Nature and Senna were on there way through a portal._

_Jack was still floating in the air in the blizzard as he spun his staff and stopped the blizzard. It only covered the small area, so he didn't have to move to move or stop it, but he did have to use his staff, which was apparently all the explanation that Bunny needed to immediately become enraged at Jack. "YOU! GET DOWN HERE!"_

_Jack nodded his head and let out a remorseful sigh. 'He's a good person...it's just me he doesn't like...and who can really blame him after what so many people say, and what I've done over the years.' Jack thought to himself as he descended. Once on the ground in front of Bunny he stood as tall as he could as he looked at the Pooka with a look of indifference. "Hello, Bunny."_

_"DON'T YA, 'HELLO, BUNNY' ME!" He growled and then immediately scratched at Jack's face, causing two deep lines to start bleeding on his right cheek._ _Jack slowly brought a hand up to his face and_ _when he brought it back in front of him, he looked at the warm liquid on his hands_ _. He shook his head and let out a sigh, but before Jack could say anything, Bunny was swiping at him again. Jack carefully tried to dodge each swipe, but some of them scratched up his colonial shirt that he was still wearing for some reason. As he continued to swipe, Bunny growled out, "YA DAMN USELESS, UNWANTED, UNLOVED, HORRID, TERRIBLE, SELFISH, ARROGANT, AND UNCARING SPIRIT! YOU RUINED MY HOLIDAY! YA RUINED EASTER HERE! STREWTH! NO WONDER YOU DON'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS! YOU DESTROY EVERYTHING YA TOUCH!" At his last words, he tore the sleeve off of Jack's shirt, exposing his muscular, yet thin and bleeding arm._

_Once Bunny was done, Jack stood as tall as he could with scratches at his abdomen, arms, and face. "Are you done, Bunny?"_

_"Yeah! I'm done with ya! Ya better stay the hell away from my holiday! The children don't and WILL NEVER need someone like you!"_

Sandy furiously waved at the nightmare to stop, and he immediately conjured a sand whip to wrap around one of Bunny's ears. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SAY THAT TO HIM!? TO ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER! YOU BLOODIED HIM UP, BUNNY! HE WASN'T EVEN FIGHTING YOU! HE DID NOTHING TO YOU PHYSICALLY AND YOU TREATED HIM LIKE HE WAS WORSE THAN PITCH!" Through his rage, Sandy's eyes widened as he watched Bunny begin to shake with his eyes facing the ground. Shocked at how he was reacting, Sandy released the whip and allowed it to slip back into his form. "Bunny?" He questioned, still with a hint of rage, but it was now mixed with worry.

"I...I..." Bunny spoke in broken sobs as his body shook while he clutched to the staff as if it was the only thing keeping him remotely stead as he was crouched on his haunches. "I kn-know...I...I was...c-cruel! I...that day...wh-when I...went h-home...I...I l-looked at m-my paws...and I...I was ho-horrified wi-with myself. I...I remembered e-everything I-I said to him. I r-regretted e-every word! I...I couldn't b-believe I said that to a-another spirit...I couldn't believe that I DID that t-to another spirit. I h-had n-nightmares o-of that m-memory f-for a l-long time...and th-then...somethin' w-weird happened...but e-either way...I...It didn't...THEY didn't g-go away until t-wo years l-later. I...I h-have no right...absolutely n-none...to c-call Jack a f-friend. I-I'm s-so s-sorry, Sandy!" Suddenly the sobbing got worse, but no one dared to move. None of them had seen Bunny like this, not once, so they were going to let him finish. "A-And i-if w-we t-try a-an s-save him...a-and w-we're too late...I...I d-don't th-think I-I could ever forgive m-myself again...because of wh-what I did then...a-and a-at Easter. I-I promise to tell ya, but please...know that I-I'm sorry! I didn't like him...th-that part is t-true, but I NEVER wanted to hurt h-him! Ever since I f-found o-out h-he existed...h-he became l-like an annoying l-little b-brother that I d-didn't like, but was w-willing to put u-up with and p-protect if need be. I didn't want to hurt him!"

"You...you truly regret it." Sandy stated in guilty awe at the state of his friend. "Bunny...I'm sorry for my behavior...and if Jack's behavior after the battle with Pitch was anything to go by...he at least forgives you for this day."

"Th-thanks...but I gotta ask...do you know who c-could've healed his scratches?"

"I-I did." Sandy admitted. "I saw him flying, and he was having a lot of trouble, so I conjured a a dream cloud beneath him, but it started to turn red, which is usually a warning for me if I'm injured and don't notice or if a child is injured somehow and needs some of the healing magic I know. I asked Jack what had happened, and he told me that it didn't matter. He said it was his fault anyway, and that if I should find out someday..." Sandy took in a deep breath and shook his head. "...that I shouldn't be too harsh to the one who did that to him, because he already forgave him. He said that he knows that spirit to be a good person, but he went to far and that's how he ended up like that. H-He said..." Sandy had to calm his shaky breath as he saw the look of stunned hope in Bunny's eyes as his emerald eyes shined brighter due to the sobs he just wracked out. "He said...that someday he HOPED that he and that spirit could be friends."

"Oh..." Bunny whimpered out as he let out a few more sobs. They let him sob until he was finished, and once he was, he stood taller and looked at Sandy. "S-Sandy...I gotta warn ya...I stayed mad at him f-for a while for Easter...but I always regretted what I said and did to him. A-Also...if it show it...on Easter...this year...I have to admit...we chased him away...but please...we're all sorry."

"Fine...I accept your apology. Now, come on, we're getting closer, I sense it. Oh, and you're lucky that the day I saw him flying was the same day I gifted him that blue hoodie."

"Ah, right..." Bunny nodded, and watched as Sandy waved his hand to resume the memory nightmare.

The black sand that shifted with the dream became erratic and eventually exploded. "C-Correction...we're here and we are going to be bombarded with slight visions of what's torturing him right now, and what's going on in the deepest reaches of his soul."


	5. Surprise Visitor

"S-Sandy...are we going to see his memories?" Bunny asked carefully as they were suddenly surrounded by darkness.

"Yes...I can tell this is like the last one. Whatever we see...it will be memories and nightmare combined...to torture. It will play the things that have tortured his mind through the years. We'll find Jack at the core of it, and when we find him there...he...he may not be all there and will likely try to attack us. I almost killed Kozmotis with how far gone I was. W-We...need to be prepared...and I can't stop anything this time. Essentially...we're not in Jack's mind anymore...but in his soul. We have to walk, and look for him. This is an infinite space, so we have to actually genuinely look for him...and we're likely going to hear scrambled thoughts on all of us...and we'll hear our voices echoing to him...and...well...we're going to hear everything. His wants, desires, self doubt, and just...it's going to be raw, and it will feel like we're invading his privacy, and a lot of what we see will hurt, but we have to save him."

As they walked through the darkness, black sand started to circle next to them in a sickening way as it opened up a circular vision, almost like a large circular window.  _"Who's Jack Frost! Jack Frost...Jack Frost..."_ Jamie's voice echoed tauntingly.

 _"HEY!"_ Jack shouted.

The vision left and another one appeared in the same way.  _"Don't worry...you won't hurt for long!"_  A woman's voice called out, and suddenly the vision blinked to Jack having many scratches that were oozing purple liquid.  _"Soon, no one will have to worry about the Winter monster...monster...monster."_  Jack's eyes drifted close and he fell from the sky with staff in hand, but as he was falling the vision faded and began to reveal another as they continued to walk.

 _"Fatherless MONSTER!"_  A teenager called out and they could see in the vision that this was when Jack was human.

 _"I HAVE a Father!"_  Jack shouted.

 _"Oh?"_  One of the taller teenagers punched him in the stomach while two others held him.  _"Where is he then? Rumor says that once he found out that your mother was telling the truth about being pregnant...he ran off!"_

 _"HE DIDN'T RUN OFF!"_  Jack shouted and a gust of wind rushed forward from behind him, knocking the teenagers away from him.  _"He's doing important things!"_

 _"Apparently..."_  The tallest groaned as he got back up and rubbed at his jaw.  _"...he didn't think YOU were important enough!"_

Sandy's heart ached that Jack suffered cruel words like that, but he couldn't stop looking for him. He looked around for a path, anything, but it was all so different than when he was trapped in the nightmare world. "This is different..." He told the others. "There were at least paths for Kozmotis to follow..."

"Perhaps we need to make our own paths. He is spirit after all...and Guardian now. Perhaps it is different." North suggested just before another vision appeared.

 _"Who did this to you!?"_  Sandy could hear his own voice echoing and soon, another black sand mirror showed a vision, and it was of Jack sitting on Sandy's dream cloud, clothes torn, and injuries everywhere.

"Oh...Jack..." Bunny whimpered out as guilty tears began to stream down his face once again.

_"Don't worry about it."_

_"What do you mean 'don't worry about it'!? You're torn to shreds!"_

_"I am not! I still have some of me attached!"_  Jack tried to joke, but when he let out a soft chuckle he quickly winced in pain and brought a hand up to his cheek.

_"Jack, tell me who did this to you...please!"_

_"No. Now, Sandy, you know I can't lie, but I can still keep secrets, and I intend to keep this one for as long as possible."_

_"Y-You really won't tell me what happened?"_  Sandy questioned as he grabbed the bottom of Jack's shirt and started lifting it carefully over his head.

 _"N-No."_  Jack groaned out as he got his mostly injured arm out of it's sleeve with Sandy's help.

_"Oh, Jack! Look at your stomach! You look like you got mauled by a tiger!"_

_"Heh! More like a Kangaroo."_  Jack rolled his eyes, and there was a genuine smile on his face.

 _"A kangaroo?"_  Sandy asked as he glanced up at Jack while inspecting the wounds on his body.

_"It fits, believe me. I think I may call him that from now on. He certainly fights like one...better than one...but yeah."_

_"So, it's a he...and he fights better than a kangaroo?"_  Sandy smirked.

_"Yeah...just...don't worry about who did it. I know them to be a good person. It's just me they don't like, and I'm fine with that. I already forgave him anyway."_

_"Jack..."_  Sandy breathed out in awe at Jack's words.  _"...how could you forgive someone for doing this to you so quickly? The wounds seem to have only JUST dried!"_

_"Because...I know that this would be something he would regret. I can't explain it...but I know...I know he's somewhere regretting what he's done. He'll be mad at me probably for the rest of eternity, but he at least already regrets this, and that's apology enough. So, if you should find out one day...please don't be harsh towards him. Like I said...I already forgave him. I just...I hope I can be friends with him someday. I think we would be good friends."_

_"Jack...you never cease to surprise me."_

_"Yeah, if I did, you'd get bored."_

_"Ah..."_ Sandy trailed off with a Fatherly glance to Jack accompanied with a smirk. _"...can't have that, now can we?" Sandy leaned back and nodded his head. "Alright, you know this stings a little, but you'll be alright."_

 _"Yeah...just get it over with..."_ Jack nodded his head as he looked away, but the others watched as Sandy grabbed dream sand and somehow made it thicker and put it on the wounds as if it were turned into a paste. Once he got all of the wounds, he closed his eyes and held his hands together. Soon, the places where the wounds were started to glow, and the sand started to disappear into Jack's body, leaving no trace of any kind of scar.  _"You're lucky I had Mother Nature make you a gift. I had hoped to give it to you for your birthday, but she had to put a few more enchantments into it. Here."_

_"A...A blue hoodie?"_

_"Put it on."_  Sandy urged.

Jack did as he was asked and watched as his shoulders frosted in a lightning pattern.  _"Cool!"_

_"Yeah, now you'll be able to fly through ANY type of storm, and it will make you a bit more resistant to the other elements. Oh...and the pockets hold infinite space. You just have to think of the item you want when you reach in, and you'll be able to grab it. I like it on you. It suits you."_

_"Thanks, Sandy."_

"I don't understand...how was that nightmare?" North questioned.

"I-It must be Jack! He's trying to fight! We have to find him!" Sandy started looking around frantically once more.

"Perhaps I can help..." A familiar voice called from behind them, and Sandy immediately conjured his whips to attack Pitch who stood behind them. "WHOA! SANDERSON! PUT THOSE DAMN WHIPS OF YOURS AWAY!"

At the sound of his name, Sandy dropped the whips mid attack, and he blinked at the figure who was trying to smooth out his clothing. "K-Kozmotis?"

"Good to see you too, brother. As always." Kozmotis rolled his eyes.

"Wait...I thought you said he was  _LIKE_  a brother." Bunny mentioned with a curious brow.

"Ah, no. Surprise, we're  _actually_  brothers. He's about ten years older, but yes. If he told you we were  _like_  brothers, he wasn't lying...but I understand why he didn't tell you we were  _actually_  brothers. Now...Sanderson...thank you for putting those accursed things away."

"Y-You're welcome? Why...HOW are you HERE!? You're supposed to be in a hole in a ground! We saw you!"

"Oh, yes...that...well...I've gained control of them once more, but you see...I felt a searing pain in my soul thanks to the Little Prince."

"The soul magic he used..." Sandy breathed out.

"Yes! That! So, because of that...our souls became connected...in a way. Purely accidental, I'm sure, but none the less...I have seen everything since you all started dream walking through his mind, and I must say...calling him Little Prince couldn't be more appropriate considering  _YOU_  were supposed to be the Lord High General of the Galaxies...but Mother and Father respected your wishes to go out and see the universe...and they let you go."

" _SANDY_  WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE HIGH GENERAL!?" Bunny shouted, dumbstruck by the sudden revelation.

"Yes, but we do have more pressing matters to deal with, do we not?" Kozmotis let out a soft hesitant sigh before continuing. "You don't have to agree of course, but I would like to help the Little Prince if you'll let me."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Tooth glared daggers at him, still feeling raw from everything she's seen, and she wasn't about to let it get worse than it already was.

"You don't if I'm to be honest...and that's fine...just...let me TRY and help. I'm powerless in the real world. Unless someone comes to free me, I can't do anything."

"You have not once called him Jack." North mentioned as he stroked his beard with a contemplative expression.

"I made a promise to him that I would never call him that so that he'll know it's truly me."

Sandy nodded his head, and gave Kozmotis a slight smile. "Alright, you can help us...AFTER you tell me how you're holding back his nightmare visions."

"He's fighting..." Kozmotis trailed off as he conjured an orb of pure light in his hand. "This place is never truly dark like this. You only know of what I've told you, Sanderson, and it wasn't just merely finding you..." He then slowly placed the light into the floor, causing three sets of paths to appear. One was white and curved to the left, the one directly in front of them was a zig zag path that was black and ice blue, then the path to the right was a golden path made of dream sand. "The path to the left is where his memories are, the path in front of us is where he is, and the path to the right of us is where ALL of his good dreams are. It may sound tasking, but we have to go through both before you can continue ahead. You see...you've been walking straight...or at least you think so...but really...you've been walking in place. We have to search his memories for what he considers to be the best memory, and then we'll have to search his dreams for his dream come true. Don't worry...I can tell he's fighting."

"What exactly is he fighting?" Bunny asked cautiously with his ears falling flat against the back of his head, worried for the next words that his gut was telling him would come.

Kozmotis looked down to the floor in what seemed to be shame and pure guilt. "He...He's fighting...He's fighting becoming me."

"What do you mean!?" Bunny shouted as he clutched tightly to Jack's staff with a pounding and chilled heart. He had expected to hear about Jack fighting becoming a fearling...not another Pitch Black!

"It...almost happened to Sanderson...they almost overcame him...they almost turned him into the Nightmare king...but I JUST BARELY got to him in time. Then, when I was guarding the black gate...No one was there to help me like I helped Sanderson...so I was overcome with them...they took over my body and voice...but not my senses. When the Little Prince used his light magic against me...and the nightmares engulfed him...they got inside him...and I must say...I'm incredibly impressed with how well he was able to fight after that, but...now...anyway, yes...they're trying to turn him into another Nightmare King or rather...a Nightmare Prince I suppose."

"Wait...when did this happen!?" Sandy shouted in horror at hearing that his son had faced off against Pitch by himself.

"It was..." Kozmotis looked away from Sandy, causing him to widened his eyes in realization.

"It was just after you killed me...wasn't it?"

"Yes." He answered with a hint of guilt in his tone. When he finally looked at Sandy, his eyes softened, but they still held guilt. "You would've been proud of him, Sanderson."

"I-I'm sure I'll get to see it...but why do you look so guilty about it...if it wasn't really you?" Sandy tilted his head in confusion.

"Because...I still felt my body do all of those things!" He whimpered out. "I...I felt the powers connect to my soul...and I felt my body attack you and your friends...and I felt...I felt myself KILL you!"

"But it wasn't you." Tooth stated. "Tell me...would you have  _wanted_  to do that to Jack?"

"Starshine! No! The Little Prince gave me EVERYTHING! He...he gave me friendship, he returned me to normal, even if it's just in his dreams sometimes, but...NO! I couldn't do that to him...and when the darker side of me...the one controlling my body...when it watched the Little Prince get engulfed it taunted me with it...but no...I couldn't...I wouldn't."

"Then...it's not your fault." She stated as she placed a calm hand on his shoulders, causing him to stare at her with wide eyes, and she noticed that his eyes were truly silver. Not grey or even a different shade of grey she's seen on others, but truly silver, and they sparkled.

"U-Um...thank you..." Kozmotis' smile twitched for a second. He thought for a moment on how beautiful her eyes were, but then he quickly looked at Sandy. "Both of you. Now...let's go through his memories first. That'll probably take the longest considering we have to CHOOSE which memory we think he considers to be the best memory, and I'll be sure to keep away the memories you've already seen so that we don't have to revisit them...but we won't be able to stop the other memories. However, we can talk after seeing a memory. The memories will appear as doors."

"Right...so...can I just ask somethin' because...now that I have the opportunity...which, frankly, I never thought was possible...but...when you or the dark side of you...when you came and wiped out my kind..."

Kozmotis instantly had tears falling from his face, which was really all the answer, Bunny needed, but he wanted to hear it anyway. "I...I begged and screamed for them to stop. I watched it all...felt it all...HEARD it all. I heard their screams, Aster...I...there is NOTHING I could say or do that would atone for it, but I promise you...I did not want to hurt your kind. They were warriors, sorcerers, scholars, and above all...they never sought violence! I never wanted to kill them!"

"Thank you." Bunny gave him a sad, but honest smile. "Ya have no idea what that means to me...I forgive ya."

"Y-You what?" Kozmotis breathed out just a below a whisper as he stared at Bunny, silently hoping he didn't hear that wrong.

Bunny felt his hope, and couldn't help but smile. "If Jacky can forgive me for what I did to him...then I can forgive ya for something ya didn't want to do. Now, come on...we need to save the little frostbite."

"Th-thank you! Come, this way." Kozmotis motioned for them to follow him, and they did. They walked down the glowing white path, but once they all stepped on it, the path split into six different paths. The first path was a dirt path and there was a sign above it that read, Elizabeth Elaine Mansnoozie. The second one was a green and golden brick path with a sign that read, Kozmotis Pitchiner. The third one was a sunset colored path seemingly made out of dream sand and above it, to know one's surprise, the sign read, Sanderson Mansnoozie. The fourth one was a lush green path made of the freshest grass they had ever seen and above it, the sign read, E. Aster Bunnymund.

"Oi! How does he know my real name?"

"Oh..." Sandy breathed out and face palmed himself. "That would be my fault...I told Elizabeth the stories...and she must've told him...I'm sorry, Bunny."

Bunny nodded his head and shrugged lightly. "No issues here...just thought it was strange. I'm fine with it."

They continued to look at the paths and saw that the fifth one was made of ice, but the ice had Elven language etched into it. They looked above, and noticed the sign read, Nicholas St. North. The six path was made out of the same flooring Tooth's palace had and above it read, Toothiana. "Alright...why are our names on the signs?" North questioned as he gave a curious look to each unique path.

"It's his memories with you individually. Whenever you were alone or when one of you was talking to him personally. It will make viewing his memories easier. We have to pick what he considers to be the happiest memory from each person. We'll go through Elizabeth's first. I'm interested to see my nephew at such a young age...and to see what kind of woman captured my brother's heart so quickly." At his words, he noticed a slight blush on Sandy's features, causing a smirk to appear on his own. "She must've been quite the woman to catch the heart of a man that swore he would never marry anyone for as long as he lived."

"She was." Sandy nodded his head with a loving smile.

"Wait...Sandy swore he would NEVER marry?" Bunny questioned with widened eyes and ears at full attention, eager to hear the explanation.

"Yes...I just didn't understand the need or the appeal for romance...but then I met Elizabeth...anyway, we need to get to Jack. Let's go." Kozmotis nodded his head and they walked down Elizabeth's path. As soon as they all stepped onto the path, the other paths disappeared and doors started appearing one by one. "Alright, now we just have to go through each door. Fortunate for us, the Little Prince didn't have a long life. Let's go." Kozmotis opened the first door that had the date December 25th, 1698 and light surrounded them for a brief moment before they were suddenly in a house.


	6. Elizabeth's Path

"I...the date on the door...and this house...I'll get to see Jack when he was born!" Sandy exclaimed, but then he heard the sound of an infant's cries, causing him to stop what he was doing as the sound rang in his ears. The sound nearly stopped him from breathing all together as he walked towards the noise with shaking hands and weak knees. Once he walked through what was once his and Elizabeth's bedroom, he saw the midwife take Jack to be cleaned and then she gave him back to Elizabeth. After that, the midwife left the room giving Elizabeth her congratulations and good luck, saying that she'll be by in less than an hour to change the bedding. Sandy stepped in further, allowing his friends and brother to follow him, and he quickly made his way to Elizabeth.

 _"Oh! Sanderson, if only you could see your little boy! He's so beautiful...and it was well worth the pain, believe me."_ Elizabeth gently kissed Jack's forehead as she held him tightly to her breast.  _"My little Jackson Overland Frost."_  She whispered, but then suddenly the wind burst through the room and wrapped itself around Jack, ruffling his thick brown hair.

 _"My name is Wind or Wendy if you prefer little one! Oh! You are unique, you are grand, and we will have MANY adventures together! Oh! Your mother! Hello! I'm the Wind! I will try my best to protect him and be there for him! I will play with him, and keep his spirits as high as I can!"_  Then the wind wrapped itself around Jack again.

 _"Huh..."_  Elizabeth blinked frantically, but then she looked at Jack with pure love in her eyes once more.  _"...you're even more unique than I thought! You will be remarkable, Jack!"_

"Oh, Elizabeth...if only you knew!" Sandy whispered out with joy, pride, and love lacing his tone, causing the other Guardians and Kozmotis to grin with wide eyes. Sandy then looked closer to see Jack, and his heart skipped a frantic beat. "Oh...Jack. My son. You're so handsome...and you look SO much like your mother!"

Jack started crying some more, but it wasn't fussy or irritability, he was just hungry.  _"Alright."_  Elizabeth chuckled.  _"I'll feed you."_

Before she did anything, Sandy was grateful that the memory ended there, and they were back in the hallway. "Jack was so cute!" He heard Tooth squeal. "And Sandy! Oh, you looked so happy and proud!"

"That's because I am. That was something...for over three hundred years...that was something I dreamed about sometimes." Just as he was about to say something else, the door they just went through glowed, and then almost immediately turned into something that looked like a coin with a picture of Jack as an infant on it, and it flew behind them and placed itself in a slot, displaying the picture towards them. "There's nine other slots..." Sandy whispered out.

"I guess we have nine other memories to go through." Bunny stated with curiosity lacing his tone.

"That's right." Kozmotis confirmed gently. "Each path has ten memories to go through...ten memories to pick only one most important one from." Kozmotis didn't hesitate to look at the door opposite of the one just turned into coin. "Huh...1702. If it's not the end of December he's still three here." He opened the door and once again the house appeared, but this time Elizabeth and Jack were outside, so they were too. Jack sitting comfortably in Elizabeth's lap. As the other's looked around they noticed that everyone else had their candles blown out. Everyone else was sleeping. "What's going on?" Kozmotis asked with a curious expression.

Seemingly answering his question, Elizabeth gasped and pointed to the sky.  _"Jack! Look up!"_  She whispered, and Jack did as he was asked.

The Guardians and Kozmotis looked up as well, and they were all stunned to see golden tendrils of sand above them, and they soon descended down, but just above the tendrils was Sandy.  _"Dada!"_  Jack whispered out in awe.

_"That's right, Jack. That's your Daddy up there. He's doing super important things."_

_"What doing again?"_  Jack asked as he tilted his head.

_"He's delivering sweet dreams to children. He does it for ALL of the children of the world, and the world is such a big place, my love."_

_"Dada very good. I love Dada!"_  Jack sighed as he watched the tendrils slowly disappear.  _"Dada see me?"_

 _"Oh, sweetie...I wish he could."_ Elizabeth sighed out as she shook her head.

 _"Call Dada down?"_ Jack asked as he looked up to his mother's face.

_"No, Jack...because, then I would ruin all the hard work he just did."_

_"I see Dada?"_

_"Maybe someday. I hope you do someday, but for now, all we can do is silently cheer him on and wish him a good night's work."_

_"Hmm...otay...good wuck at work, Dada!"_

_"Very good, Jack."_ She chuckled out with a look of pride.

_"Mama?"_

_"What is it, Jack?"_  Elizabeth asked as she picked Jack up and took him back inside with his legs wrapping around her waist and his arms dangling from her shoulders.

_"I no get Dada's sand?"_

_"Why don't you get your Daddy's sand?"_  Jack nodded his head as she laid him down in bed.  _"You get it sometimes...just not when you're awake. It's kind of like how you're not allowed to be awake for Santa..."_

 _"NORTH! BANDIT KING!"_  Jack jumped up onto his bed with his hands balled into fists onto his hips.  _"I BANDIT PWINCE!"_

 _"Oh-ho?"_  Elizabeth chuckled out. Meanwhile Kozmotis and the others looked to North, who was wearing a ridiculously proud grin with eyes filled to the brim with wonder at Jack's words.  _"Don't you want to be a dream giver like your Daddy?"_

_"No...that Mama and Dada job! Mama...and...Dada...should work to...toge...together! I Bandit Pwince!"_

_"Alright then, oh great Bandit Prince...what will be your greatest thievery mission?"_

_"Hmm..."_  Jack jumped into the air with Wind's help and he carefully crossed his legs as she set him down onto the soft bed.  _"I know! I know!"_

 _"Okay, what is it?"_  She asked eagerly as an amused smile grew on her face.

_"I steal the sad! Want no one to be sad...so...I will steal the sad!"_

_"That..."_  She let out soft chuckles with a proud smile as she urged him to lay down while she covered him up.  _"...is a fine thing to steal. I think it would be the best thievery mission ever. Now, sweet dreams, Jack."_  She whispered softly and they all gasped as dream sand slowly appeared out of her hand as she sprinkled it onto Jack.

Once the memory ended they watched as the door turned into a coin with Jack's hand stretched out to Sandy above him, and it flew into it's slot next to the previous memory. "Well...she's certainly kind and gentle." Kozmotis chuckled out lightly, but then he noticed tears come from Sandy's eyes. "Sanderson?"

"I...I was right there...and I...and Jack he..."

"He loved you, Sanderson. Your son loved you."

Sandy looked at Kozmotis and nodded his head with a grateful smile. "You're right...he did. He said so. Let's look at the next one." Sandy walked over to the door opposite from the previous one and read the date. "December 25th, 1705. Jack turns seven in this one!" Sandy opened the door, and they were brought into the house, but they all forgot that Jack had found Sarah when he was six, and were briefly surprised to see Elizabeth putting an infant in a rocker near the Christmas tree.

_"So, Jack, are you ready to open your presents?"_

_"Yeah! But first! Here!"_ Jack grabbed a small box that was obviously wrapped by Jack.

"Awe...now that is adorable." North stated with a soft smile as he stepped closer towards Jack and soon the others followed, but stood by Elizabeth when they couldn't stand around Jack.

 _"Thank you, dear. So..."_  She took the box from Jack and she held it, giving it a mischievous glance, grinning slightly as she noticed the bow that had too much string.  _"Should I save the wrapping paper?"_

_"NO! You don't save the wrapping paper, Mama!"_

_"Hmm..."_  She chuckled lightly, causing Sandy to smile warmly just as he has done every time he's heard it.  _"You're right!"_  She then proceeded to tear the paper off, but as it flew in the air, Wind apparently thought it would be cute if she took the bow that Elizabeth had torn off, and she tied a bow around Jack's neck.  _"Awe! Thank you, Wind. He looks so dashing now!"_

Jack looked down at the loosely tied bow around his neck just before giving his mother a wide and toothy grin. "OH! Those Teeth!" Tooth squealed in delight.

_"I like it! Now, open the box, Mama!"_

_"Alright, alright!"_  She slowly opened the box, and her smile grew.  _"Oh, Jack! It's lovely!"_  She told him as she took out a wooden carving a crescent moon painted white and and pale blue with a star attached to the crescent and it was painted a golden color. The carving wasn't perfect, but to North it was exceptional for a seven year old.

_"Thank you. I worked really really hard! It took me a whole year! I...kept messing up...but I got it right!"_

_"It's perfect, Jack. Now, open my present to you, and then open the one you got from Santa. You have to save the best for last."_

_"Oh...then I'll open your's last, Mama."_

"How can a seven year old have so much charm?" Tooth asked quickly with an amused look on her face.

"Somehow I think he get's that from his from his mother more than Sanderson." Kozmotis answered as they watched Jack put the wrapping paper he just tore off, down next to him. However, the slight giggle that came from Tooth caused him to become slightly breathless, and he had to swallow a lump in his throat.  _'Well...this must've been what Sanderson felt with Elizabeth...but how!? I don't deserve love!'_  With his thoughts, he was silently thankful that no one could hear his thoughts in this world. He was thankful that they couldn't hear his sudden revelation that he may be developing feelings for the Tooth Fairy. He was charmed by her eyes, then he adored the way she squealed at the cute Little Prince, and now her giggle has taken his breath away.  _'Well...this is certainly interesting...'_

 _"OH! Mama! Look what Santa got me!"_  Jack shouted, catching Kozmotis' attention once more. They all watched as Jack took out a grey stuffed Bunny.  _"I got the Easter Bunny!"_

 _"You sure it's not just a regular stuffed bunny, love?"_  Elizabeth questioned with a knowing look.

_"NO! North got my letter! I asked for a grey stuffed bunny so that it could remind me of the Easter Bunny, because Easter is my favorite holiday!"_

"Oh no..." North groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"OH YES! Dirt on Frostbite, AND I win! Easter IS better than Christmas! I got the Guardian of Joy and Fun's approval!"

"This was before he became Guardian! Does not count!" North argued, but then he was hit on the head with a small but powerful fist and so was Bunny.

"Will the two of you stop?" Tooth questioned with a fed up look as she crossed her arms, unaware of the wide grin on Kozmotis' face as he looked at her.

However, Sandy DID notice and he started grinning like a fool, doing everything he could not to let his amusement show. Then, Elizabeth started to speak again, grabbing his attention once more.  _"Well then...what do we say?"_

 _"Thank you so much, Santa!"_  Jack shouted as he squeezed the stuffed Bunny tight, causing the real Bunny to suddenly want to hug Jack as he was reminded of the situation they were in.

The vision ended with Jack's smiling face, and when they were out in the hallway again, they watched the coin with a picture of Jack holding a stuffed Bunny on it fly into its slot. "Alright...seven more..." Bunny breathed out. He then walked over to the door opposite of the previous one and noticed that it said April 6th, 1706. "Wh-What?"

"Bunny? What's wrong?" North asked with concern growing on his features as he noticed a singular tear fall down Bunny's face.

"I...you know how after our first battle with Pitch together...y'all got your believers...your TRUE believers...and I didn't?"

"Yes..." North trailed off, wondering what Bunny's point was supposed to be.

"Well...I found one...and...according to this date...it was Jack. I...he tumbled...HARD...into a shrub that had thorns, but he went through and saw me on the other side. He...He wasn't afraid of me, and he even gave me a tight hug."

"Let's see what he says to his mother." North suggested as he placed a reassuring hand on Bunny's shoulder.

Bunny nodded and opened the door, causing them to be outside during the day time and Jack was rushing towards Elizabeth with dirt all over him, scratches everywhere, and a bright smile on his face.  _"Jack! What happened to you!? Oh! You only got one Easter egg?"_

 _"What?"_  Jack asked quickly, then looked down to his basket, then to his mother and nodded his head.  _"That's okay though! Come on! I wanna tell you at home!"_

_"Fine, but you're going to have to suffer getting cleaned up and having medicine put on EVERY scratch."_

_"That's okay, Mama!"_

The Guardians followed them back to the house, and they walked inside, and waited patiently as she grabbed what she needed to clean and disinfect the wounds.  _"Alright, now how on Earth did you get scratched up so bad?"_  She asked as she then motioned for Jack to sit in a chair opposite of her. "Put your ankle on my leg." She demanded, and Jack dad as he was told. She then started to clean the blood and dirt of.

_"I met the Easter Bunny! He's super tall!"_

_"Oh? You met the Easter Bunny did you?"_

_"Yeah, but he doesn't look like the Bunny I got for Christmas, but that's okay too. I know that North gave it because he read my letter which means he cares, so that's okay...but YEAH! I met him! He...I don't think he's been seen before. He seemed scared I wouldn't like him or that I would run away."_

_"So what did you do?"_  She asked as she got finished cleaning the wound and then began to put medicine on the scratches.

_"OW! I...OW! I...um...I told him I wasn't scared of him and that he was even better than I imagined, because it's true. He told me that what I said made him very happy and he saw that I didn't have any eggs in my basket so he gave me that one. It's an extra special egg Mama! I don't want it to ever go away, but I know it has to eventually...anyway, he's super nice...even if he does talk a bit weird. Oh! And he has Aster flowers on his head and arms!"_

"CRIKEY! He knew what my markings were!?"

"That's what they are?" North questioned with a risen brow.

"Yeah...they're a portion of my name...every Pooka is born with a portion of their name on their body."

 _"Is that so?"_  Elizabeth hummed with an impressed look on her face.  _"Well, did you tell him thank you?"_

_"Yeah! I told him thanks bunches when I gave him a hug. He then told me I should get going because you were probably worried about me."_

_"Huh, well, I like him more and more already."_

_"Oh, you would like him lots, Mama! His eyes are as green as those green jewels you showed me in that book!"_

_"Emeralds?"_  She asked as she motioned for Jack to give her his other leg.

He put his other leg on her's and nodded his head.  _"Yeah, emeralds! He's also got gray and white fur, but where the Aster markings are...his fur is so dark grey it's almost blue!"_

_"My, that's impressive! So, how much do you love Easter NOW?"_

_"IT'S MY ALL TIME FAVORITE! I'll always believe in him. He's nice. I Hope we can be friends someday."_

The memory ended, and they were transported back to the hallway with the door turning into a coin with the picture of a hand holding an Easter Basket, and then it flew into its slot. Kozmotis let out a heavy sigh as he looked to the slots behind them. "Six more..." He then walked to the next door they were supposed to open, but he noticed that it had scratch marks on it. "This...this can't be right..." Kozmotis muttered as he took in the sigh of the door.

"What's wrong?" Sandy asked as he made his way to the door and gasped at the scratch marks. "Th-Those...they're..."

"What are they?" North asked as he got closer.

"They're...they're fearling scratches..." Kozmotis answered with a hint of dread behind his eyes. "...but closer to the floor...they turn from fearling scratches to human scratches."

"C-Could that be a part of him fighting?" Sandy questioned desperately. "Could this be the door that has the most important memory?"

"We won't know that until we've seen ALL of his important memories with his mother...but it's certainly a sign that he's gone down the paths..." The longer Kozmotis looked at the markings, the more he realized the difference between Sandy's and Jack's. One fatal difference that would change everything. "He's...he's getting trapped inside his own soul! They're not JUST going to try and turn him into another me...they're going to make him the ultimate Nightmare King by taking his SOUL! They head for the most powerful source of magic first in order to snuff it out and use it as they please and..."

"Jack has SOUL magic!" Sandy finished with a look of horror on his face. "That's how he was able to move about! His soul is trying to keep him safe!"

"That's right...and it seems that he had to fight a fearling here. The scratches aren't connected...but they're still different. We still can't determine if this is the most important memory, but whatever's behind this door...it had a close connection with his Soul Magic." Kozmotis then turn to see the date on the door, and tilted his head at it. "Most of the date was scratched out except for the year. "1708..." He turned the door knob and they were met with a dark bedroom and a frightened Jack shaking underneath the covers.

 _ **"Come on out, Jack!"**  _A sickening whisper called out.

"WHAT!?" Kozmotis shouted in alarm. "How are the voices whispering to him!? He was only nine...or if it's after his birthday...ten!"

"Voices?" North asked, growing more and more concerned by the second.

"I...he really shouldn't be hearing them at all...but...they're the voices I've heard in my head since they overcame me. One of them must've slipped from me and into him somehow...but how did he survive that long..."

 _"NO!"_  Jack screamed, interrupting Kozmotis.

 ** _"Yes!"_**  It hissed.  ** _"Come on...what's really for you here?"_**

_"What?"_

**_"Yes, what's for you here? A home? A fire place? Food? A mother? You don't honestly think that you get to keep all of those things do you?"_**  The voice cackled loudly in Jack's ears as he clutched to the blanket tighter, and everyone noticed how the room became darker.

 _"Yes! I do!"_  Jack fought back.

 ** _"We can destroy your home, we can make you colder than ice, we can make it to where your food disappears without you eating it or possibly even make you lose appetite all together, and we can go after your Mother..."_**  At that, Jack removed the blanket and quickly jumped out of bed in his night clothes and looked into the darkness. He looked around for something, but the Guardians couldn't figure out what he was looking for.  _ **"Ooo...we have touched a nerve!"**_  The voices laughed wickedly.  ** _"Yes, we can go after her in many ways. We can torture her in her sleep, we can make her paranoid, we can make her look crazy to the point where the others will question if she's fit to be your mother."_**

 _"My Mother is strong!"_  He stated as he crossed his arms, still carefully looking around the dark room.

** _"Oh, no doubt about that. However, what of your little sister? Oh, such an adorable little thing! How old is she now? Oh, no matter, she'll be easiest to get to!"_ **

_"Don't. You. Touch. Her!"_  Jack growled low, and dangerous. It stunned everyone to hear such a sound come from Jack, let alone a child, but his eyes were intimidating as well. Jack's eyes quickly darted up to the right corner of his room and they grew even fiercer.  _"I am the Guardian of Joy and Fun! I won't let you hurt her...or my Mother!"_  He growled out as he started to glow brilliantly. His whole body was glowing white, and as the room lit up as bright as daylight, five fearlings were revealed in the room and they were terrified. Jack then summoned a ball of pure light and he threw it at one of them, which then eventually started eradicating them all. Once they were gone, the light dimmed, and Manny's moon beams were shining through the window. They all looked with dropped jaws as Jack, a nine, possibly ten year old at this point, collapsed and held his head, but struggled with all his might to turn and face the moon with a bright smile on his face.

Not long after Jack turned to face the moon, the door busted open, and in came a worried Elizabeth.  _"JACK! I heard you screaming! You screamed at someone saying that you were the Guardian of Joy and Fun...Honey...what happened!? You look so tired and..."_

_**"Elizabeth Elaine Mansnoozie...I am known as the Man in the Moon...I believe your husband has told you of me and the others..."** _

_"Y-Yes..."_  She stated, and then noticed that Jack was looking up at the moon.

 _"M-Manny..."_  Jack stuttered out with an exhausted voice.

_"You know him, Jack?"_

_"Yeah...he talked to me in October last year. He wanted to check on me or something. We talk sometimes. Sometimes if I wake up and can't go back to sleep...he helps me."_

Elizabeth nodded her head and looked up to the moon.  _"What happened in here?"_

**_"Well, other than your son declaring himself a Guardian...he magnificently enough vanquished five fearlings in order to protect you and his sister, but if I'm to be honest, it was mostly to protect Sarah."_ **

_"I-I'm so sorry...I didn't mean for him to actually call himself a Guardian..."_

**_"Believe me, Elizabeth...it's more than alright. He has the pure heart of a Guardian. I think...if you don't mind that is...someday I would actually like to make him a Guardian."_ **

_"Y-You w-would m-make MY son a...a Guardian!? T-To protect the children of the whole WORLD!?"_

**_"Someday, yes...but I will have to admit...it may have to be after something tragic happens. However...if something EXTREMELY tragic happens...I need you to believe in him like you believe in your husband. You have to believe he'll exist with all your heart. He'll keep his name as well, but the shortened version will be Jack Frost."_ **

_"I...I promise! B-But I have to ask...h-how did Jack vanquish FIVE FEARLINGS?"_

**_"With a pure soul. He felt with all his heart and soul that he wanted to protect you both, and it brought forth an ancient power in him. However, he may feel very drained for quite some time. The amount of power he used...it used to be staggering for adults...and the fact that he's still awake is incredible."_ **

_"Did I do something wrong, Manny?"_ Jack asked as he pouted up at the moon.

**_"No, and I promise you, Jack Frost, that I will tell you if you've done something wrong. You were perfect, Jack."_ **

_"Thank you, Manny. So...someday I'll be a Guardian?"_

**_"If your mother agrees."_ **

_"I...yes! I think the children of the world would be lucky to have Jack. Maybe he'll get to know his Father someday."_

**_"That...was my initial plan if I'm to be honest. I want Jack to know Sandy. I want Sandy to know him. They love each other so much...but Sandy doesn't know anything about him. He can't tell which dreams go to who. Not unless he's looking directly at them...and he thinks of you everyday. He constantly thinks of the child he never met, and I know that more often than not, he thinks of what he would've done for and with Jack if he had gotten the chance. He loves you both so much...I think it a shame that he didn't get to meet Jack."_ **

_"Th-Thank you!"_  Elizabeth said in shock as tears slowly rolled down her face. The other's looked to Sandy and saw that tears were also running down Sandy's face, but the man was absolutely speechless, so they didn't say anything.

**_"No, thank YOU for raising Jack like you have been and for your strong belief in the Guardians."_ **

_"Manny?"_

**_"Yes, Jack?"_ **

_"Can I pick my powers?"_

**_"W-Well...I don't see why not."_ **

_"A-And c-can I pick what I look like?"_

**_"Sure."_**  Manny told him, and everyone could tell there was a wide and soft smile in his voice.  **"What did you have in mind?"**

_"Well, I want snow white hair like Bunny's belly...and I want ice blue eyes like North."_

**_"My goodness! May I ask why?"_  **Manny questioned, clearly shocked and astounded by the answer, but not more than Bunny and North at the moment who were both staggering back in shock at the small child's words.

_"Well...when I met Bunny...I noticed he had snow white fur in lots of places but mostly his belly, and when I gave him a hug...he was crying...but he was happy. He was crying tears of joy that I hugged him...and he was soft, warm, and very very nice to me. I...I don't have any friends...but someday I would like Bunny to be my friend...but for now...if you do make me a Guardian...I want snow white hair like Bunny's belly. Then, for North...he sees the wonder and magic in everything...he was also once a Bandit King, and Mama told me stories that Daddy told her...and North sounds like a really amazing person and super kind and funny and he sounds so FUN and HAPPY! I...that's why I want ice blue eyes like North."_

**_"My goodness, Jack. You certainly are full of surprises. Yes, I believe I can do that. Now...what of your powers? You already have some incredible powers..."_ **

_"Oh...well...if it's not too much to ask...I would like to keep the powers I have now...but...I also want to be a Winter spirit."_

_**"WHY!?"**_  Manny asked, dumbfound. It wasn't usually a CHOICE to be a Winter spirit. They weren't liked by any standard.

_"Because...Winter is beautiful, it's fun, it makes me happy, the snowflakes that fall are so pretty, and...with winter...spring comes soon after. Winter makes way for spring."_

**_"My, my, my...yes, I can do that as well. It would also suit your name PERFECTLY! Will that be alright with you, Elizabeth?"_ **

_"Definitely! He loves Winter! I watch him play with Wind all the time during then. She even lifts him up into trees sometimes."_

**_"I've seen this myself sometimes."_** Manny chuckled out. ** _"Very well, Jack Frost will be a Winter spirit and the Guardian of Joy and Fun...but when he's old enough, of course...and Elizabeth...I am TRULY sorry...but it really will be after something tragic happens...but please please PLEASE don't ever stop believing in your son."_**

 _"I won't ever stop believing."_ Elizabeth stated with resolve as she held Jack in a tight embrace.

The memory ended and they watched as the door turned into a coin like the other's, but this one was different. It had Jack on it in the same design that the other Guardians were drawn as on the Guardian symbol in the North Pole. Then, to their immense surprise, the coin didn't move to where the other coins were, but it did float down to Sandy. "This...is completely different than going through your soul, Sanderson." Kozmotis stated as he watched Sandy hesitantly take the coin out of the air.

"I-It's because Jack has Soul Magic...the rules are similar...but some things are different. I know why this one didn't go with the others...I feel it..."

"Are you SURE, Sanderson? We can't be wrong." Kozmotis warned.

Sandy smiled as he rubbed his thumb against the large coin. "This is Jack's most important memory with his Mother." Sandy stated, and to his surprise, the Large Coin flew out of his hands and started spinning around faster and faster, as it started to glow brighter and brighter until they all had to shield their eyes. Eventually when they risked opening their eyes, they found themselves back at the beginning of the paths with the names on them.

"Turns out...Sanderson was right. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to get out of there."

"Guys! Look up!" Bunny shouted as he pointed up.

They other's did as he said, and gasped in shock at what they saw. It was a clear night sky with a full moon above them, however, for some reason there weren't any stars. It was just a dark blue, almost black sky with a shining moon. The night sky seemed to only encompass the area they were in though. They couldn't see anything past the paths. "It's a piece of his soul." Sandy breathed out in shock. "We're piecing together his soul! I think...and I'm pretty sure I'm right...but...the more we piece together his soul...I think the more we'll see. So, when we DO eventually go down the path that Jack can be found..."

"We'll be able to help him and find him a lot easier! We can help the Little Prince easier!" Kozmotis exclaimed with both relief and excitement. "I was worried it may take forever...now it's just a matter of going through the right door."

"Yeah, and considerin' the coin gave itself to Sandy...I'd say that Jack is trying with all his heart and soul to tell us that he wants us to help him." Bunny stated with a proud grin as he crossed his arms.

"That's the only thing that makes sense." Kozmotis shrugged with a relived smile. "Now...my turn..." He sighed out, still holding onto the relived smile as they walked through to his past with Jack.


	7. Kozmotis' Path (Kozzy)

Once they went down Kozmotis' path, they noticed that the doors appeared just like last time, but the coin slot area behind them wasn't there. There was nothing but a door with chains, and the chains had three locks on them. "Well...that's certainly interesting. I've never heard of the Nightmare world changing like this, but then again...I've never heard of a Soul Magic user becoming engulfed by the darkness that's trying to turn the Little Prince into a Nightmare Prince either."

"Let's go through the doors, and see what happens. Maybe all it'll take is three keys. So perhaps only three doors." Tooth stepped to the door to her left and read the date. "This...was a while after he was turned into a spirit."

"What's the date?" Kozmotis asked as he stepped closer to her.

"Christmas 1720." She answered calmly as she turned the door knob, causing an eruption of light around them, but it quickly faded to Jack sitting in a tree rather high up.

 _"Kozzy?"_ Jack called out as he ran a hand through his white hair, looking up at the sky.

 _"Yes, Little Prince?"_ Kozmotis questioned as he stepped out of the shadows and moved to sit next to Jack on the tree branch.

"This was one of the times where I had temporary sanity. This isn't a dream...I'm really talking to him."

_"Well, I know you're the Boogeyman and all...but you also said that your name was Kozmotis. So...were you Kozmotis before being Pitch Black?"_

_"Yes."_  Kozmotis smiled as he looked up to the moon.  _"Would you like to hear my story, Little Prince?"_

_"If you don't mind."_

_"Hmm...this can be considered your Christmas present, considering North hasn't given you one."_

"That's okay that he hasn't given me one. He has more important things to think about than me." Jack's words in the memory sent a sharp pang of guilt, remorse, and heartbreak through North, causing him to be speechless as he continued to watch the memory, but in that moment he silently vowed to make sure that Jack would ALWAYS have a wonderful Christmas if they could save him in time.

_"In my humble opinion...I don't think there's anyone as important as you."_

Jack gave a light shove to Kozmotis, letting out a slight laugh.  _"You're like a doting uncle! Come on...tell me your story."_

_"Alright, well...I'm not from this planet for one."_

_"It's already interesting!"_  Jack belted out a laugh.

Kozmotis let out a gentle laugh as he ran his hand through Jack's hair in a caring manner.  _"Are you going to let me tell it, or not?"_

_"Right...sorry."_

_"Okay, well...so...not from this planet, got that covered. Now, I guess I should start how that Katherine girl started all of her stories...Once upon a time..."_  At that all of the Guardians gasped and looked to Kozmotis who only shrugged with an amused smile.  _"...I grew up in a large palace. My Mother and Father were Lord and Lady Pitchiner. My Father was the Lord High General of the Galaxies at the time, making him king of the universe pretty much. I had a loving older brother as well. His name was Sanderson, and when Mother and Father couldn't find time for me, he made time. We used to ride horses and race, spar, experiment with Mother's potions and ingredients...we would also play pranks on one another or Father. We played a prank on Mother ONCE and we learned to NEVER do it again..."_  Kozmotis let out a laugh with a reminiscent smile.  _"Sometimes we would cook together to surprise Mother and to give the cooks some rest. There was ALWAYS food. We were very fortunate. Now, that being said...whenever we would attend the balls and parties my Father always loved throwing...Sanderson was always the first to be asked to dance, and he would always tell them no. I asked him one day why he always told them no, and he told me, 'If they cannot accept no as an answer and then possibly try to dance with my little brother, then they weren't worthy of a dance at all.'"_

 _"Your brother sounds kind of harsh."_  Jack blinked at him a bit, but Kozmotis shook his head with a soft smile on his lips.

_"No, he was being kind. It happened more often than not...but since Sanderson was next in line for the throne, he was the one all of the other women went after. EVERYONE wanted a chance at the throne. So, until he saw a woman dance with me, he would never dance with anyone."_

_"Did you eventually dance with someone?"_

_"Yes, in fact. Oh, and she was lovely. She had short ebony hair, forest green eyes, and skin as pale as ivory. She was also the only woman dressed in a sapphire blue dress. As she came towards me and my brother, I could tell Sanderson was already getting prepared to tell her no, but to BOTH of our surprise, she didn't even look at him. She walked straight towards me and held her hand out to me without even bowing, or trying to be courteous. She wasn't being a lady at all. She was being demanding like she DESERVED the dance, and it made my heart soar. It also caused my brother to ACTUALLY crack an approving and amused smile at one of Father's parties. Anyway, I took her hand with probably the biggest smile I had ever worn, and we immediately started to dance, and believe it or not, she took the lead...and I let her. I fell in love with her during that dance...possibly just before. I asked my Mother and Father...then I asked her Father if it was alright that I court her, and they all said yes."_

_"Look at you! Who knew you could be so charming!?"_

_"Another comment like that and I'll push you off the tree."_  They both laughed lightly. Then, with an eye roll, Kozmotis continued,  _"Anyway, I eventually married her, but about three years after I married her, I noticed Sanderson wasn't acting himself. So, I confronted him about it, and he said that he wanted to see the universe, but he wanted to do more than just parties, battles, and nobility. He wanted adventure. With a heavy heart I understood, and we both went to Mother and Father to tell them what he told me. They asked him if he was SURE he wanted that, because if he answered yes...that he would still remain prince, but I would be taking his place. We looked at each other and both nodded. I told them that the affairs of court never suited him anyway, and they didn't. He was always wild, mischievous, cunning, and he ALWAYS spoke his mind. He didn't take it as an insult...he actually took it as a compliment and he told them that he would love us no matter what, but that he felt like there was something incredibly important he was meant to do someday. So, they smiled at him and nodded their heads. They gave their approval for him to leave with the understanding he would always be welcome back home."_

_"Did he find the something important he was meant to do?"_

_"I believe he has. He doesn't know it...mostly because of my darker side...but I'm happy and proud of him. He really is doing important things."_

_"What is he doing?"_

_"Ah...that...I can't tell you, I'm sorry. You see...if you do happen to meet him someday and know my story...and you bring it up...it may cause A LOT of dangerous problems."_

_"Okay...I think I understand."_

_"Good...now...for the rest of my story. Many many years after Sanderson left...there was a great battle against Nightmares, Fearlings, Nightmare Pirates, and all kinds of darkness. I had to leave my wife and daughter to..."_

_"You had a daughter!?"_

_"Yes, and she is as beautiful as her mother...now...if you keep talking I really will push you out of this tree."_

_"Alright, alright."_  Jack laughed out as he looked back up to the stars. "So...big battle?"

_"Right, so, I had to leave my wife and daughter to fight them, and me and my soldiers had succeeded, and I volunteered to watch over what was known as the black gate, which was where we had trapped them all...but...I started to miss my daughter. I looked at a locket I had always carried with me...it had her picture in it. The darkness behind the gate saw this, and mimicked her voice somehow to trick me. They made it sound like my daughter was pleading and begging me to let her out because she was scared and they were hurting her. I opened the doors without hesitation and...they turned me into the Nightmare King. When I'm not like this with you...I'm trapped inside my own mind. Little Prince?"_

_"What is it?"_

_"Can I ask you to do something very important for me?"_

_"Sure."_  Jack answered with a furrowed brow as he gave a serious expression towards Kozmotis.

_"If...If I do prove to be Pitch Black again...and not Kozmotis...and...if I start hurting others...and if the Guardians are called to destroy me...I need you to promise me that if you are able...promise me that you'll help them defeat me."_

_"WHAT!? WHY!?"_

_"Because, Little Prince..."_  Kozmotis trailed off as he put his hands to his sides, now looking down to the ground with guilt in his eyes.  _"...I've already hurt so many people. I...well...my darker side...but I was trapped inside my own mind...but I could see everything...and...I would at least be at SOME sort of peace of mind that even with me being Pitch Black...someone still cared about the real me...and doing that...would show me you do. I...I will say horrible and hurtful things to you...and may even try and kill you...but just know...that's not really me...it's just..."_

 _"It's just...Pitch Black...the Boogeyman. I know. This is the real you."_  Jack tightened his grip on his staff and seemed to think about it for a moment with a serious look that the other Guardians decided, did not fit Jack.

_"Little Prince? Your answer?"_

_"Yeah...I can do that for you. Like I said...you're like a doting uncle...which makes us family. I'll do it for you."_

_"Thank you!"_  Kozmotis sighed out, and with his sigh, the memory faded.

Once they were back in the hallway, they watched as the door glowed white just before disappearing. "Well, I guess that wasn't one of the keys." Bunny stated, letting out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. He was beginning to realize that they didn't know Jack at all.

"Jack...he called you an uncle." Sandy breathed out as he looked to Kozmotis. "He had no idea he was talking to his real uncle..."

"No, and imagine MY surprise when I realize I'm related to the Little Prince while I silently watched all of you observe his dreams in the shadows. Truth be told...when he had said I was like an uncle...I thought...'This kid is exactly what I could picture being Sanderson's child.' So, apparently I felt the same...all without knowing it. Oh, and wait until Mother Nature finds out she has a cousin!"

"Won't that be interesting considering they see each other like brother and sister." Sandy couldn't help it, he bellowed out a laugh. "Oh, let me be there to see the look on her face."

"Well...you'll be going alone. I'm technically in a hole at the moment."

"Ah...I forgot." Sandy allowed his laughter to die down, but he still held a warm smile. "Well, we should go through the next door." He moved to the next door and read the date. "December 31, 1729."

"Ah, I remember this." Kozmotis stated with a delighted grin. "Let's go." He opened the door and they were all brought to a large open hilly area in the middle of the night.

_"Alright, Kozzy...you called me out here...in the open...where ANY spirit can see you BY THE WAY! What is it, and where are you?"_

_"I'm right here!"_  Kozmotis chuckled just before a large and familiar scythe started coming down on him, causing the Guardians to panic and look to a grinning Kozmotis.

Hearing the man in question behind him, he turned around and blocked the scythe with his staff.  _"Really? A scythe? You tell me that you're going to work on developing a weapon for yourself...and you choose a scythe?"_

_"Well, truth be told...I used to have one, so I thought it might be perfect."_

_"Fine...but you couldn't choose like a sword or...or...whips or something?"_

_"Irony at its finest."_  Kozmotis chuckled low.

 _"Whatever, what did you want, anyway?"_  Jack asked as the scythe faded while he backed away.

_"Whoa, whoa! First off...what's wrong?"_

_"Nothing."_  Jack groaned out as he started walking away, waving his staff back and forth.

_"I know you, Little Prince. It's never nothing. It may be small...but it's still something."_

Jack stopped walking and turned to face Kozmotis who was standing there patiently.  _"It's just...I..."_

 _"Little Prince...who burned you!?"_  Kozmotis exclaimed as he swiftly moved forward and grabbed Jack's arm. He pulled the sleeve up and inspected the burns.  _"Is this what you call nothing!?"_

 _"Yes?"_  Jack asked with guilty eyes looking away as he allowed Kozmotis to hold his arm.

_"Who did this?"_

_"It...it was a fire spirit. She was trying to cause a wildfire...but there were children in the forest...and they would've died...I stopped it, and she got mad so...she shot me out of the sky."_

_"Did you tell Mother Nature?"_

_"No, I didn't tell her...she found out. Once I saw her speaking with the fire spirit, I told her I wanted to be alone, and she gave me a brief nod of her head...so I left. She didn't know I had actually gotten burned though."_

_"Would you like me to heal it for you?"_

Jack's eyes went wide as he turned his head to face him.  _"You can do that?"_  He asked with pure astonishment and wonder lacing his voice.

 _"While I'm like this I can."_  He gave a polite smile to Jack just before hovering a hand over the burn marks. "It may sting a little, but soon you won't feel anything, alright?"

 _"Alright."_  He nodded and watched with curious eyes as he watched Kozmotis' hand begin to glow with bright yellow light. Then, to his apparent surprise, the healing did sting, but the burns WERE being healed. They were disappearing. Once they were gone, his arm was released, completely healed.  _"Whoa!"_  He breathed out as he inspected his arm.

_"Well, at least you're not burned anymore...but still...this has happened too often. Hasn't Mother Nature trained you?"_

_"She um...does sometimes...but mostly...I just keep to myself when it involves her and her spirits."_

_"Has anyone taught you how to fight?"_

_"Um...no?"_

_"Right, well that ends tonight. Thankfully there isn't a village or town for MILES and spirits don't typically come out here. So, this will be the perfect spot to train."_

_"Wait...are YOU gonna train me?"_  Jack questioned with a dropped jaw and risen brow.

_"I'm not about to let you go on for the rest of eternity being defenseless."_

_"I'm...gonna be trained...by...the king of the universe!?"_

_"That's who I USED to be. The Golden Age is gone and I'm mostly corrupt...so..."_

_"But you're still you right now. So, right now...you're still General Kozmotis, because right now...you're you."_

_"Will wonders never cease."_  Kozmotis breathed out in shock as he held a hand to his heart.  _"You sure have a way with words, Little Prince. That means a lot...thank you."_

 _"You're welcome. Now...back to my epic training?"_  Jack smirked as he tightened his grip around his staff.

_"Well, first of...it's not going to be as epic as you think. You're going to hurt...a lot. I'm not going to go easy on you. Neither will anyone else in the future. You will HAVE to learn to expect the worst at times."_

_"I-I understand."_  Jack nodded his head, truly understanding his words.

 _"Good. Now, when you blocked my scythe by pure instinct, that was impressive to say the least. I wasn't actually going to strike you, but you blocked me before I could come around you to show you. So, that instinct you felt? USE IT!"_ Pitch then conjured his scythe once more and started swinging at Jack, worrying the other Guardians, including Sandy. However, Jack was apparently very skilled at dodging.  _"Use everything at your disposal, Little Prince! Use your agility, your strength, your senses, the environment around you, your magic, your powers...everything!"_

When Kozmotis made to swing at Jack again, Jack grabbed the scythe with his bare hand and shot electrical ice at Pitch with his other hand that held the staff tightly.  _"Like that?"_  He asked once he saw his strike hit Kozmotis in the stomach.

 _"Yes! Like that!"_  He laughed out and held a hand to the frozen place on him, and it melted with a brief glow.  _"However, you're gonna have to try A LOT harder than that to knock me down, Little Prince!"_  The scythe disappeared and suddenly vines were creeping up Jack's legs.

_"Y-You can use Nature Magic!?"_

_"I can use all types of magic when I'm myself. This is just a favorite of mine. Now, if you'd rather...we can train you without powers and magic, but like I said earlier...you should use everything at your disposal."_

_"Something tells me that Pitch Black wouldn't make me the same offer."_

A soft chuckle escaped Kozmotis' lips and he made the vines recede.  _"No, he wouldn't. In fact...he probably would've-"_  Whatever he had to say next was stopped abruptly when ice noticeably crawled up his own legs.  _"Ah..."_  He breathed out in amusement.  _"Taking a page out of my book? I believe that's cheating."_

_"Yeah, well, I've been in enough fights to know that the other won't fight fair."_

_"Correct, and this is good...but..."_  Kozmotis merely stepped forward and the ice crumbled.  _"...not good enough."_

_"H-How!?"_

_"It wasn't strong enough, because YOU'RE not strong enough. It seems we really do have to start at the beginning. You need to have as much mental and emotional strength do use your physical strength. Your mental and emotional strength is what FEEDS your magic, powers, and physical strength."_  He put away the scythe and seemed to examine Jack from a distance.

 _"What are you looking at me like that for?"_  He asked carefully.

_"Right! I've got it! So, when you used your staff to block me, you didn't use ANY of your magic or powers...which means you would be adept at DEFENSIVE fighting...but I'll train you with OFFENSIVE fighting first. That way we get your comfort zone taken care of first."_

_"What's the difference?"_

_"Well, Defensive fighting is where you're either blocking, or attacking while trying to get to cover or backing away. Offensive fighting is YOU pushing the other back, causing them to go into Defensive fighting. I'll train you on how to do that WITHOUT powers...but you can still have your staff. Alright, now, I don't care how uncomfortable you feel about it, I want you to try and hurt me."_

_"You're insane!"_  Jack shouted with a look of shock.

Kozmotis shrugged with an amused smile.  _"I've been called worse by my own brother. Now, come on!"_

Jack nodded his head and moved to deliver an honest punch to Kozmotis' face, but his fist was grabbed, and his arm was twisted around his back.  _"Wha-"_

 _"Are you wondering what happened?"_  He asked just before letting go of Jack's fist, allowing him to turn around.

_"Y-Yeah."_

_"Well, I got your fist, that's what happened. You took too long in your attack, allowing me to grab your fist and do what I did. You need to be quick. You don't have to muster ALL of your strength into one attack. It's not going to be over with one hit, and if you EVER DO get to that point where you can do that...it will be LONG after you've completed training with me. Now, try again, but this time-"_  Suddenly, Jack's fist met with Kozmotis' face.

 _"Like that?"_  He grinned as he shook his hand.

 _"Yes..."_  Kozmotis laughed.  _"...just like that, Little Prince."_

"Really...why DO you call me that?"

_"It's a personal nickname for you. It's also what I call you so that you know the difference between me and the Boogeyman or Pitch Black. You see...Pitch...my darker side...he doesn't know the nickname I have for you, because of...well...let's just say it was a unique turn of events that allowed me to be myself. No matter how rare it is. So, that's why I call you that. Now, if you ever hear me call you by your name, or any variation of you name...or really...anything BUT Little Prince...run. Run or fly as fast and as hard as you can and don't look back. However, still keep your promise that you made to me...and if we should meet again...WAIT to hear me speak to you. Do you understand?"_

_"I understand."_

_"Good. Now let's train some more."_

The memory faded quickly and they were in the hallway, but this door did something different from the other doors they've seen. The door knob on this one came off, and the door disappeared as if it were fading into the black, and the door knob that floated there turned silver just before molding into a key. It then flew to one of the locks and turned itself inside one of them, causing a set of chains to collapse. "Well, I guess we know what happens when we finish with the right doors then." Bunny chuckled out. "Hey, I gotta ask...did ya really train Jacky?" He questioned as he looked at Kozmotis who wore a proud smile.

"I did. Mother Nature assisted a lot, but she didn't know that. No one before today knew that I was training him. I trained him how to fight not only others...but me as well. He caught on quickly, and eventually...I would let him take his frustrations out on me through sparring matches."

"Huh...so he DID get trained by General Kozmotis." Bunny stated in a matter-of-fact tone that caused Kozmotis' eyes to widen considerably as he looked to the Pooka for answers as to why he would say that, but instead of answers he received a warm and friendly smile.

"Thank you, Aster."

He gave a slight shrug, still holding the same warm smile. "Ya were there for him. Ya asked him to help us...and as far as I can tell...ya really did care for him...which is more than I can say for myself, unfortunately, but you taught him to fight. You gave him protection by teaching him how to protect himself...and the best part...you tricked the darkness. In all that time...the darkness didn't catch on to you having humanity...did it?"

"No, it never did. It was as if...it's strange to say, but it was as if while I was Kozmotis...they were frozen in time...in mid whisper...and then when I would revert back to being Pitch Black, their whispers would continue as if they had never stopped. Now, come on, we have more to see and..." Kozmotis stopped as his eyes glanced over to his right. "...those two doors weren't there before." He breathed out with widened eyes as he pointed to two doors at the end of what should've been an endless hallway. "Those two are the ones we need to look at."

"Are you sure?" North questioned as he too noticed the strange black doors.

"Yes. Looking at them won't hurt any, but I believe those will be the two doors that will turn into keys. However, there's no date on them."

"What do they say?" Tooth questioned as they all walked closer to them.

"Before...and...After." Kozmotis narrowed his eyes, but then they suddenly widened. "Oh no...I know what's behind these doors."

"What?" Sandy asked, noticing the immediate look of guilt on Kozmotis' face.

"Before and After Easter this year. You'll see what PITCH did to him...both times."

"But we know what happened before Easter." Tooth stated with a saddened look in her eyes. "He traded Baby Tooth for his memories."

"WHAT!? THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK HAPPENED!? Oh...that explains after Easter then..."

"Wait...that's not what happened?" North questioned cautiously, feeling a bad twist in his belly.

"I-If that's not wh-what happened...then what did happen?"

"Pitch tortured him long enough to destroy Easter." Kozmotis answered with remorseful eyes.

"H-He what?" Bunny breathed out, his heart pounding against his chest in immense guilt. If he had to compare it to anything, it would be equal to or more than the guilt he felt for the blizzard of '68.

"Let's walk through..." Kozmotis said, and as he opened the door the entire place transformed rather than faded, and it morphed into the memory of Jack just outside of Sophie's Window.

_"We should get back."_

_"Jack!"_ A young girls voice called out.

 _"That voice..."_ He narrowed his eyes, seemingly trying to remember where he's heard it from. _"I know that voice."_

 _"Jack!"_ It called out once more, and almost as if he was in some sort of trance, he flew off towards the sound of the voice, his eyes searching for where it could've come from. _"Jack!"_ It called out again and he landed on someone's roof, again searching the area for the familiar voice. _"Jack!"_ It said again. _'It's coming from the forest!'_ He flew off towards the forest, intent on finding the source of the voice.

Once he made it to the middle of the woods and landed he walked closer to where he assumed the voice was coming from and found an old wooden bed frame that seemed to be broken in some places. Baby tooth tried to pull on his hoodie, but Jack waved at her with almost a hypnotized trance look in his eyes as he continued forward. _"Don't worry...there's still time."_ Once he made it to the bed frame, he broke through the already mostly broken wood, then the voice called out to him. After that, he dove down into the dark hole without a second thought with baby tooth rushing after him. Once he landed, Baby tooth found him and began tugging at his hoodie once more. _"Baby Tooth! Baby T...C'mon! I have to find out what that is!"_ He looked up and saw all of the fairies that were captured earlier, in cages. All of the fairies started crying for Jack's help. He flew up to a cage and saw so many fairies inside. _"Shhhh keep it down! I'm gonna get you out as soon as I..."_

 _"Jack?"_ The voice called again and the trance like stare appeared on his face once again. _"Jack!"_

 _"...I can..."_ He threw himself into the pile of teeth canisters and frantically looked through the faces of different children, but he never found his.

 _"Looking for something?"_ Pitch called out from the shadows. _'Pitch!'_ Jack turned around and shot ice towards the shadow, and as it disappeared he began to chase it. _"Don't be afraid, Jack. I'm not gonna hurt YOU."_

Jack jumped around the darkened corridor until he found Pitch walking across a bridge. He flew towards him and started following him with his staff ready to strike. _"Afraid? I'm not afraid of you."_

_"Maybe not, but you are afraid of something."_

_"You think so, huh?"_ Jack questioned with a quirked brow. _'Yet you don't know the relationship I have with Kozzy. Interesting.'_

 _"I know so! It's the one thing I always know. People's greatest fears. Yours is that no one will ever believe in you."_  Fear seemed to begin to settle into Jack's heart as Pitch's shadow grew more at his own words. Then suddenly, he was pulled down a dark tunnel and pushed out somewhere else in the cavern as he chuckled darkly. _"And worst of all..."_ Pitch continued. _"You're afraid you'll never know why! Why you? Why were you chosen?"_ Jack ran away from the voice desperate to get out. _'I have to get out of here!.'_ His heart was pounding and he was getting more frightened the more Pitch talked. Jack was soon backed up against the wall as he noticed Pitch's shadow coming towards him, becoming more solid. _"...To be like this. Well, fear not. For the answer to that is right here."_ Pitch held out the canister to Jack and looked at them both with a soft yet twisted smile on his face as he asked, _"Do you want them, Jack? Your memories?"_ Jack reached out to them, but drew his hand back as he scoffed out a breath of disbelief at himself. _'I promised Kozzy if I ever ended up facing him, I had to run...I need to get back to the others!'_ Jack thought to himself, but the others could hear his thoughts due to viewing the memory. Pitch soon disappeared again and Jack chasing him again through the dark cavern of cages. _"Everything you wanted to know..."_ Pitch's shadow spoke. _"...in this little box."_ His shadow disappeared and Jack rushed after it with determination in his eyes. _"Why did you end up like this?"_ Pitch's voice seemed to come from everywhere at this point, and Jack was visibly breathing hard. _"...unseen..."_ He continued. _"...unable to reach out to anyone. You want the answers so badly. You want to grab them and fly off with them, but you're afraid of what the guardians will think. You're afraid...of disappointing them. Well let me ease your mind about one thing. They'll never accept you...not really."_

Pitch's voice echoed around him and in his head _. 'They'll never accept me...No! Stop...!'_ Jack started to grab his ears desperately as he started to crouch in on himself. _"Ngh! Stop it! Stop it!"_ He shouted. _'Get out of my head! You're LYING!'_

 _"After all..."_ Pitch appeared in front of Jack who was now standing next to Pitch's version of the globe. _"You'll never be one of them."_ He grinned darkly as he approached closer.

Jack held his staff once again, ready to attack Pitch at any moment seemingly trying to will himself to be brave. _"You don't know what I am!"_ He growled out.

 _"Of course I do! You're Jack Frost! You make a mess where ever you go. Why...you're doing it right now."_ He tossed the tooth canister towards Jack, and Jack caught it, and looked at it skeptically.

_"What did you do?"_

_"More to the point, Jack? What did you do?"_ Pitch chuckled out darkly as he and his glowing eyes started fading away into darkness.

Jack immediately went after him, his staff glowing with power, when he realized that Pitch wasn't there. He made to turn around but found himself facing a wall instead. _"Baby Tooth!"_ He exclaimed as he pounded his fist against the stone door.

_"Happy Easter, Jack."_

Jack turned around to see crushed eggs and his heart seemed to sink. _"No..."_ He said sadly as he made his way down the tunnel.

The memory went away just as it came, and everyone watched as the hallway re-situated itself as the memory disappeared. "Th-That's what happened!?" Tooth squeaked out in horror.

However, before Kozmotis would answer her, he watched the door repeat the same actions as the previous door, and it unlocked another set of chains. Then, he turned to her with remorseful eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. "Yes, that really happened. He never traded Baby Tooth."

"Then...what happened to her?"

Kozmotis didn't say anything. He simply just opened the door that said, 'After', and allowed the memory to play.

Jack was running up to an icy cliff ready to throw his teeth into the waters below, when something apparently told him that he just couldn't. He dropped his arm to his side and let out a frustrated sigh.  _"I thought this might happen."_ Pitch called out. _'Pitch!? Why are you here!? This is your fault!'_ Jack thought furiously. _"They never really believed in you. I was just trying to show you that, but I understand."_

 _'HOW DARE YOU!?'_  Jack thought with pure rage as a growl left his throat as he immediately and relentlessly attacked Pitch with an ice blast. _"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!"_ He shouted as he jumped over Pitch, landed on the far other side of him and shot another ice blast.

Pitch used his nightmare sand as a shield from Jack's blast that would've sent him flying if he hadn't. _"No!?"_ He shouted.  _"I don't know what it's like to be cast out!?"_ He shot out nightmare sand at Jack who avoided it and immediately flew high into the air with a vengeful yell as he shot out a large and powerful icy blast, causing Pitch to use a large amount of Nightmare sand. _"To not be believed in?"_ He continued through the haze of ice and black that floated in the air. _"To long for...a family!?"_ Pitch's voice broke at the end and Jack started lowering his staff. _"All those years in the shadows I thought, 'no one else knows what this feels like.' But now I see I was wrong."_ Jack's anger seemed to leave him as he stared at Pitch with stunned eyes. _'Pitch does know what this feels like...doesn't he...?'_ He thought as he allowed Pitch to continue. _"We don't have to be alone Jack. I believe in you, and I know children will too!"_

 _'Really?'_ Jack thought. _"In me?"_

 _"Yes!"_ Pitch laughed out in a giddy manner. _"Look at what we can do?"_ Pitch asked as he gestured to the large nightmare-ice sculpture. _"What goes together better than cold and dark!? We can make them BELIEVE! We'll give them a world where everything...EVERYTHING IS..."_

 _"Pitch Black?"_ Jack inquired using his staff to point at him. _'I don't think so. That's not Sandy would've wanted for me!'_

 _"And Jack Frost too..."_ Pitch quickly caught himself. _"...They'll believe in both of us."_

_"No, they'll FEAR both of us, and that's not what I want. Now, for the LAST time, leave me alone!"_

Pitch's excited look from earlier quickly turned into one of anger and frustration. _"Very well. You want to be left alone. Done! But first..."_

Jack heard a familiar squeak from behind him and his eyes went wide. _"Baby Tooth!"_

_"THE STAFF, JACK! You have a bad habit of interfering. Now, hand it over, and I'll let her go."_

_"No, Jack don't do it."_ Baby tooth squeaked out.

Jack clutched his staff, ready to attack, and the power from his staff practically sang, but he lowered it and flipped it around, handing it to Pitch, who then immediately took it and it lost all its icy appearance it held when in Jack's hands. _"Alright, now let her go."_

 _"No."_ He said simply. _"You wanted to be alone? Then BE alone!"_

 _"Hey!"_ Baby tooth seemed to squeak out and she slammed her beak into Pitch's thumb.

Pitch, caught by surprise and only further angered, threw her against the ice wall in front of him. _"No!"_ Jack shouted as he watched Baby Tooth hit the wall. He turned around to face Pitch when suddenly he watched his staff snap in two. As the staff snapped, so did his apparent ability to breath as he clutched at his ribs, not quite able to grab them. Then, Pitch hurled nightmare sand at him and tossed him against the very same wall he tossed Baby Tooth against, causing him to lose consciousness until he woke up not long after landing down the icy cavern. Then, Pitch tossed Jack's broken staff into the same area. Once Jack regained consciousness, he looked over next to him and noticed that Baby Tooth was hurt. He shuffled over on his stomach, unable to move his legs, he quickly grabbed her. _"Baby Tooth! You alright?"_ He whispered out. He tried to close his hands around her to keep her warm when suddenly she squeaked, causing him to open up his hands, and she sneezed, then shook her head. He let out a disappointed sigh as he still held her. _"Sorry, all I can do is keep you cold..."_ He stood up on his knees only to crouch back down on them with another heavy sigh. _"Pitch was right..."_ Jack stated with pure hopelessness. _"I make a mess of everything."_

The memory faded as the hallway positioned itself once more, and they watched as the door turned into a key, flying towards the final lock, causing an eruption of light, and soon they found themselves at the beginning of the paths again, but they all noticed something almost immediately. "We're standing on ice..." Sandy trailed off with a confused expression as he scratched the back of his head.

"Not just any ice." Kozmotis breathed out. "This must be his pond...we have to find the rest of his memories. Whatever battle he's facing...it'll likely be at the pond once we reach him. "Who's path is next?"

"Mine." Sandy answered with a small smile.


	8. Sandy's Path

Once they stepped onto the path, doors started to appear ahead of them, and they were all painted a brilliant gold with small hints of silver in some places. They all then looked behind them and noticed that their strange escape door was different once again. This time it was just a large star. "Wonder what we're supposed to do with that." Bunny voiced as he looked back to the doors.

"I have no clue, but I do know that I'm intrigued to see what happens." Sandy stated as he walked towards the first door. "Hmm...1785. Let's see what happens." When he opened the door, dream sand swirled around them briefly before revealing the memory. "Wait...this is...this is when I saw Emily and Jack together for the first time. I had never seen them together before today, and I watched them from this very point up in the sky, but the memory seems to be mostly focused on him and Emily at the moment. Strange..." Kozmotis' eyes widened at his brother's words, and he found himself wanting to pay more attention to this memory more than anything.

 _"Get back here, Jack!"_ Emily shouted as she chased after Jack in the middle of a forest.

 _"No!"_  He laughed out as he continued to run and jump through the forest.  _"I like my head where it's at thank you!"_

_"Oh, come back! I'll only maim you a little!"_

_"Only a little she says!"_  Jack shouted as he then turned around and shot a blast of energy at her, knocking her back quite a ways.  _"It's not my fault that your hair is so long! It shouldn't have been in my way!"_

 _"YOU FROZE MY HAIR YOU BRAT!"_  She shouted as she hurled lightning at Jack, laughing wildly as he dodged them effortlessly.

_"It. Was. In. My. Way! What were you doing up there with me anyway!"_

_"I was trying to visit an old friend! You just so happen to be there!"_

_"I TOLD YOU where I was going to be!"_  Jack laughed out as he rushed towards her with his staff at the ready. Then, he jumped and moved behind her, slamming the butt of his staff on the ground quickly before swiftly moving back to where he was.  _"You asked me to tell you where I go, so I did. It's not my fault you don't listen!"_

 _"You are such an..."_  As she was about to throw another bolt of lightning she slipped and fell on her back side.  _"...ASS! You're an ASS!"_  She quickly got up and her eyes started to glow.

 _"Oh, careful now, Emily...your inner demon is about to come out!"_  Jack laughed out.

 _"Inner...!"_  She screamed and then started to command the wind to go after Jack.

 _"Sorry, not gonna happen."_  He stated with a confident as he held a hand out, and then everyone could practically see the immediate reaction the wind had. It wrapped around his arm, and then rushed back towards her.

_"You're infuriating! I had to cut my hair because of you!"_

_"Oh, a whole two inches! Quit your whining!"_

Her eyes went impossibly wide just before returning to a furious glare. She then commanded vines to reach up and snatch Jack's staff. She then held it in her hand and pointed it at him.  _"Now what, child?"_

 _"Emily. Give me that back!"_  He growled out.

_"Why should I? You should show me some respect! I am Mother Nature! You are my spirit! You're my General of Winter!"_

_"I am not WHOLLY yours! I belong to no one!"_  Jack shouted, and the ground beneath him started to frost slightly.  _"Give me my staff back!"_

_"Or WHAT!? You're powerless without it!"_

With a fuming rage, Jack moved his hands into position and immediately conjured a working bow and arrow made of ice, and he drew the arrow back, facing her.  _"I am not powerless! Now, give it back!"_

_"Y-You...H-How!?"_

_"I can't tell you that..."_  Jack stated with a slightly saddened expression.  _"Just know that I was trained to do all sorts of things in case of emergencies before I met you."_

_"You still won't tell me who trained you?"_

_"I can't, now give me my staff."_

_"No."_  She said simply with a wicked smile.  _"Let's see what you've got!"_

Without hesitation, Jack released the arrow and immediately held out a hand, commanding the wind to guide it while she dodged it, but it was no use. It pierced her arm. Jack then walked forward and grabbed his staff, and crouched down to Emily who was sitting on the ground, holding onto her wound.  _"I'm sorry, Emily."_

 _"No...it's alright."_  She winced.

Jack hovered his hand over the arrow and it quickly melted into water.  _"Can you heal it?"_  She nodded her head and hovered a hand over it, and without much effort, it glowed and healed rapidly as if there were never a wound.  _"I'm sorry..."_

_"Like I said, Jack...It's alright. I provoked you and I shouldn't have. However, you really should've been careful where you swing that thing."_

_"Perhaps...but you still could've moved out of the way. You knew I couldn't see you at that point in time...and besides...it's a nice hair cut."_

_"You're truly infuriating. You know that?"_

_"Yeah...but you love me."_

_"Yes."_  She smiled as she stood, and Jack followed her.  _"You're like the annoying little brother I've always wanted, but somehow..."_

_"Somehow it's not that...right?"_

_"Yeah...it's a weird sense. So, you feel it too, huh?"_

_"Yeah, I do. However, I swear if your new General of Spring tries to suggest us to be a couple again..."_  Jack physically and violently shuddered in disgust.

 _"Oh..."_  Emily did the same. "I know what you mean." She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.  _"I'm sorry, I just can't see you like that. You're like family."_

_"I know."_

_"Well..."_  Sandy started with a highly amused smile.  _"...the two of you certainly fought and made up rather quickly. Jack, where did you learn conjuring magic?"_

 _"I...from a friend."_  He smiled at him.  _"I just can't tell you who."_

_"Yes, I heard you tell Emily the same thing. Are the two of you alright?"_

_"Yes, we just had a huge mishap, and that's what started us fighting."_

_"I could tell. So, you were supposed to meet me, but Jack accidentally froze your hair?"_

_"HE was who you were supposed to meet!?"_  Jack scoffed out with a smile.

_"I take it...the two of you know each other well?"_

_"You haven't told her?"_  Sandy questioned with a risen brow.

 _"N-No...I haven't."_  Jack answered sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

 _"Haven't told me what? The two of you are acting rather suspicious. Wait...are the two of you involved roman-"_  She didn't get to finish as Sandy summoned his whips and had it wrap around her wrist, pulling her closer to him.

_"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you, child. Jack and I are NOT involved romantically. Is that understood?"_

_"Yes sir."_  Emily nodded with wide eyes, and everyone viewing the memory aside from Sandy gasped in shock at what they just witnessed.

 _"Good."_  Sandy nodded his head and allowed the whip to disappear.  _"Now, what Jack has neglected to tell you is that I've entrusted my name to him. He's my best friend."_

_"Y-You...h-he...WHAT!?"_

_"I swear..."_  Sandy pinched the bridge of his nose.  _'You're just as bad at listening as your Father!'_

Jack snorted out a laugh, which earned a curious look from Emily.  _"What?"_

Sandy looked up at her and let out a frustrated sigh.  _"Another thing Jack has failed to tell you. He can read my thoughts."_

_"HE CAN!? I can't even do that!"_

_"Yes well...you also apparently didn't think he could use conjuring magic in the manner he used it."_

_"True. You're a mystery, Jack."_  She told him, and earned a dramatic bow.

_"Why thank you, my lady!"_

_"Alright, you can stop being a drama king."_

_"No, believe me...I know who owns that title, and it's certainly not me."_

_"Who then?"_  She asked with a risen brow.

 _"I can't tell you."_  He answered with a brilliant smile.

_"Ah...it must be your friend that trained you."_

_"Indeed it is. Now, I'm off to spread winter...WITHOUT your long hair getting in the way, if you DON'T mind."_  He laughed joyously as he flew into the sky, and with that, dream sand appeared and they were in the hallway once again.

Kozmotis instantly started laughing as he pointed at Sandy while holding a hand to his stomach. "My daughter thought...! Oh! This is too good! Oh my...! And the way you scolded her! That was impressive! Oh...but what she THOUGHT!"

As he was doubled over laughing, Sandy watched with a twitch of irritation as the door turned into a pointed piece, and followed it's flight path until it slotted itself in the top part of the star. It seemed to be forming a picture of some sort, but they had four more pieces to find apparently. "Are you done?" He asked as he turned back to face his brother.

"Yeah..." He calmed his laughter to a dull chuckle. "Yeah...I'm done. That was hilarious though, wasn't it?" He looked back at the other Guardians who were also smiling, but he then noticed a slight blush on Tooth's face. "Is everything alright, Tooth?"

"Y-Yeah...I just never thought your real laugh would sound like that."

"Oh? How did it sound?"

"Honestly? Kind of amazing." Everyone noticed how her blush increased slightly, but Sandy was doing everything he could to not just push his little brother forward to tell him to just kiss her already. He's been watching them as they've been watching the memories and anytime the other did something it was almost like watching two shy but love-struck teenagers, and though he NEVER expected that to happen between THOSE TWO, he still found it absolutely hilarious and oddly adorable.

"Huh...well...thank you."

"Are you two love birds done?" A sentence that was supposed to remain a thought, but ended up flying out of his mouth caused blushes to appear on both faces.

"We...it's not..." Tooth started, obviously flustered and embarrassed.

"Right, we're not...I mean..."

"Save it for a blind fool." Sandy told them with an amused smile as he crossed his arms. "You two have been making eyes at each other since you got here, Koz.

"I...well...I mean I..." His blush increased, and so did Tooth's.

"W-Well...I..."

"We can talk more about this later...AFTER the two of you have calmed down from getting so painfully obviously caught. We still have to save Jack."

"R-Right." They both stuttered out.

"Wait...Sandy...have you ever actually met the General of Spring? The one who's the General now?" Kozmotis questioned curiously.

"I've seen her in passing while flying overhead, but I've only seen the top of her head. I haven't even seen what she really looks like, so no. I haven't. Now, come on, we have memories to get through." Sandy then moved to the next door. "February 13th, 1880...Oh...great..." Sandy groaned out, but before anyone could ask anything, he opened the door, and allowed the memory to play.

Once the memory appeared, everyone noticed that Jack and Sandy seemed to be talking on the dream cloud, but then someone flew past them.  _"Who was that!?"_  Jack asked, but then whatever flew past them came back and stood in front of them in the air.

The woman in front of them wore a scarlet dress that had no straps, but the tops and bottoms of it were lined with black silk. It also didn't leave anything to the imagination as it revealed a good portion of her breasts where the dress hugged tightly around her chest. She had long dark pink hair, and her eyes were as red as her dress.  _"My oh my! I haven't seen you before!"_  She squealed in delight.  _"What is your name?"_  She asked as she circled Jack once before flying back to where she was standing.

_"My name is Jack Frost."_

_"Oh, and that voice! Hmm! Tell me...what is a winter spirit doing with the dream giver?"_

_"I spend time with him sometimes...why?"_  Jack asked as he discreetly tightened his hold on his staff, but he couldn't keep his eyes off her. However, Sandy was ready to fight.

 _"What do you want, Cupid?"_  Sandy asked with a strict voice.

_"OH! How rude, Sandman! I just wanted to chat with this...handsome...young...strong...spirit."_

_"Uh huh...sure..."_  Sandy spat.

 _"Why did you want to talk to me?"_ Jack questioned curiously.

_"Oh, well...do you not know who I am?"_

_"Well, Sandy just called you Cupid...but beyond that...not a clue. Should I know you?"_

Cupid's eyes went wide as her jaw dropped at his words.  _"You truly don't know, do you? How old are you, Jack Frost? A decade? Two?"_

_"Try a hundred and sixty-seven years old. Now...why should I know you?"_

_"Well, now that's just insulting."_  She shook her head as she crossed her arms.  _"My name is Cupid. I am the spirit of Love. All types of Love really. Friendship, Romantic, and Familial love...but my favorite to play with is romance. It's always so much fun. The sad thing is...I can't interfere with spirits. My arrows don't work on spirits, because once someone becomes a spirit...it's not about love...it's about soulmates. Sandy here found his Once upon a time ago. However, he had to return to being a Guardian. Isn't that right, Sandman?"_

 _"Yes."_  He stated flatly, still glaring daggers at Cupid.  _"Now, what do you want?"_

_"Oh...I was just intrigued by Jack. Tell me, Jack...do you have a home?"_

_"Yes."_  He answered proudly.

_"Does it have a roof and four walls?"_

_"No. It's not a building."_

_"Interesting."_  She hummed in delight as she shifted her gaze over to Sandy.

"SHE KNEW!" Sandy blurted out in disbelief.

 _"How is it interesting?"_  Jack questioned with a tilt of his head.

 _"No reason, darling. Now, let me take a good look at you."_  Jack stepped forward politely and allowed Cupid to examine him by letting her fly around him and look up and down at him.  _"My, my, my...such a pure heart that has known such hardship. You have good friends, but friends that can't know each other. That's a little sad. However, I can see that you have a good and pure heart that is often filled with self doubt, but is stubbornly always caring and kind. You have found family in the least likely of places, and you don't even know it."_  She gave him an honest and soft smile.  _"Now, about your romantic love...your's is quite the love indeed. I know the spirit, and you've recently met her."_

 _"I've recently met her?"_ Jack asked with widened eyes and a slowly increasing smirk.

_"Yes...and if a winter spirit like you is looking for a bit of warmth at night..."_

Sandy took out his whip and immediately started attacking her. _"OVER MY DEAD BODY!"_  Sandy shouted with his symbols as she avoided the whips.

_"Alright! Fine! I won't do anything to him! I promise! You have my word! Put those things away!"_

Sandy did as she pleaded and crossed his arms, letting out a huff of air.  _"Good! Now...I know you, Cupid. You wanted to speak with him for more than to just see his heart, and offer him to warm your bed. You didn't JUST happen to see him and become intrigued. What is it you want with him?"_

 _"You're right...and I lied...I have seen him before. I wanted to make him an offer. Not to warm my bed at night, although...I REALLY wouldn't mind someone like him with a body like that..."_  She bit her lip, but quickly gathered her thoughts and shook her head.  _"Right! I actually wanted to speak with him about something serious."_

 _"What is it?"_ Jack asked with patient expression as he leaned against his staff.

_"Well...I can do more than just read hearts, handsome. I can read souls as well. Your's is pure, bright, and it's filled to the brim with hope, wonder, and dreams...but...so is your staff."_

_"What!? That doesn't make sense."_

_"Your staff...it has somehow become a part of your soul. It shares your soul. Not unlike a soulmate...but...your staff's soul has a twin which is unheard of...but when I looked at you...your soul...and your staff's soul...they're twins. Exact copies of one another...but a hundred percent connected."_

_"That...sounds a bit confusing...but I think I understand. My staff has a soul...and it's a copy of my soul while still being connected to the soul inside of me?"_

_"EXACTLY! Oh my...looks, brawn, and brains! Perfect! Okay, yes...that's exactly it. So, I wanted to tell you that you have to protect yourself, but protect that staff. If your staff breaks...there are five different things that could happen. One, you lose yourself and give in to self doubt and depression. Two, your ribs will break, because your soul rests in your core...your eyes are merely windows. Three, you'll lose consciousness for a short while. Four, all of the above. Finally, five, and it's the most important reason to protect your staff. You could die."_

_"But I thought we were immortal."_

_"You should know better than that, Jack."_ She shook her head. _"Spirits can be killed. The only way we're immortal is by age, spirit, soul, heart, and mind. However...if we're injured enough...we can die. YOU could die if someone were to break your staff. That's all I wanted to tell you. However, before I go, the offer still stands for you to come and warm my bed."_  She gave him a mischievous smirk, and Sandy gaped at Jack who started smiling.

Then, to everyone's surprise he gave a polite and gentlemanly bow while keeping eye contact with her.  _"You truly are beautiful, Cupid, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline..."_

_"Ah well, I should've known bett-"_

_"...for now."_  Jack finished, interrupting Cupid with a confident smirk.

 _"What!?"_  She squeaked as a blush crept on her face.

 _"WHAT!?"_  Sandy shouted in complete shock and disbelief.  _"Cupid! What have you done to him!?"_

_"I-I h-haven't done anything to him I swear! His words...they're...genuine..."_

_"You let yourself slip, Cupid."_  Jack chuckled low, causing Cupid's blush to redden even further.

_"I-I have? In what?"_

_"Even to spirits...recent is a strong word...and I haven't met any female spirits recently in the past forty years...except you, that is. So, tell me, Cupid..."_  Jack trailed off as he confidently sauntered over towards her on the dream cloud.  _"...did I get it right?"_

 _"I...I..."_  She trailed off, her blush deepening if possible while Sandy watched Jack's confidence with a dropped jaw.

Jack then flew up to her and kissed her on the cheek, causing her to swoon and nearly faint in mid-air, if Jack hadn't caught her.  _"I'll take that as a yes."_  He chuckled as he held her legs in one arm, and her shoulders in another.

 _"I um..."_  She breathed out as she looked up at Jack, who started grinning at her.  _"...y-yeah. You're right, but I..."_

 _"But you...?"_  Jack asked with a loving look in his eyes.

_"I...can be a bit much. I...well...I...also never thought that I...that I would find m-my soul mate considering...I'm Cupid...but...when I read your soul in passing one night...I was just below you...you didn't see me...but I...I saw my name on your soul...and I...well..."_

_"You're cute when you're flustered."_  He chuckled, and her eyes widened considerably.

 _"Th-Thank you."_  She stuttered out, and made to get out of his hold.

Jack gently let go of her to allow her to fly in front of him as she evened out her dress.  _"You're welcome, and I HAVE seen you around. I just didn't know you could fly as fast as you just did earlier. I've liked you for a while if it makes you feel better."_

_"Y-You have?"_

_"Yes."_

_"O-Oh...well...I...I have um...I have to go and bring a stubborn couple together, but um...maybe at some point we could...um...talk."_

_"Yes, we can talk."_  Jack chuckled lightly.  _"Just talking for now."_

 _"R-Right."_  She nodded her head and flew off like a bolt of lightning.

When Jack turned around he caught Sandy's dropped Jaw expression and simply sat cross legged on the dream cloud.  _"Alright, what do you want to ask?"_

_"Y-You...Cupid...I...how long?"_

_"I've liked her romantically for about twenty years now, but hey...how does someone tell that to CUPID!?"_

_"So...you didn't mind her advances?"_

_"No, not really. I think they're a part of her charm. However, I won't move any further than a kiss on the cheek for a while I think. I don't know what kind of man she takes me for, but it's certainly not that type of man."_

_"Wow..."_  Sandy chuckled as he shook his head in mild amusement.

_"What?"_

_"Nothing...you just remind me of myself when I met my soulmate."_

_"Oh? So, she wasn't lying...you really met your soulmate?"_

_"Yes, and she was mortal."_

_"Oh...Sandy...I'm so sorry."_

_"Don't worry. We didn't even have a quarter of a lifetime together, but...she made every dream of mine a reality."_

_"Wow...coming from you...that's saying something."_

_"I know. That's why I said it."_

_"I bet she was more subtle than Cupid."_

Sandy let out a snort and shook his head again, his smile growing wider.  _"No...she was similar, actually."_

_"WHAT!? You're kidding me!""_

_"Oh no. She was certainly something. When I met her...Due to an accident...I wasn't who you see now. I was in a different form...my original form...and I could speak. However, when she found me...wondering a out the village...she saw I was obviously lost and didn't have anywhere to go. So, she grabbed my hand and pulled me into her home. I didn't know what to say. I was too busy being flabbergasted by the woman who just pulled me from outside and into her home. So, I just stood there in front of her door, inside her home, watching her get linens from a closet and she made a room for me where she already had a bed."_

_"What did she say?"_

_"She pulled me again, but this time in my new room...and she said, and I quote, 'That's your room. You looked lost, cold, and confused. You can stay as long as you need, and if you need someone to help you get warm, I'm right down the hall.' After that, she left with a blush on her face, and I couldn't move. I was dumbfounded. However, when she grabbed my hand...it was like a spark of something had started, but I didn't know what."_

_"How long did it take you to talk to her?"_  Jack asked with eyes filled to the brim with wonder, causing North to have a singular tear run down his cheek, because he still remembered the heartbreak that he suffered when he thought Jack was dead. If he were to be honest, he was terrified that he wouldn't see those eyes filled with wonder again if they couldn't help him in time, and for while, he debated whether or not seeing the joyful memories were worse or better should they not get to him in time, but he didn't want to think about that at the moment, so he allowed the memory to continue.

 _"It took me about five minutes."_  Sandy answered with a slight chuckle.  _"You know...I could show you the memory of it if you like. I dream about it which means I can conjure it. Nothing happened that day, but I can show you small images of what led to me falling helplessly in love with her."_

 _"OH! Yes please!"_  Jack laughed in delight.

_"Alright...now, lay down, because you're gonna need to. It will be like a dream, because you'll be asleep, but it really happened, and that's really me, and that's really her. Okay?"_

_"Got it."_  Sandy summoned some dream sand in his hand and he kissed it, turning it into a elegant shade of red, and then he sprinkled some of it over Jack's eyes.

Everyone assumed that they would be transported to the hallway, but that wasn't what happened. Instead, they went right along with Jack in viewing Sandy's memory. "Well, this is certainly going to be interesting." Kozmotis chuckled warmly as he watched eagerly at the memory that was starting to play. Jack wasn't watching it like they were, but merely viewing what happened as if it were a movie he were sitting down for. He wasn't there, but the Guardians were seeing it how he was seeing it.

_Elizabeth walked out of her house and stood there for a moment, looking at Sandy who was looking rather shocked at his appearance. He was wearing a loose white shirt similar to the one Jack wore, but obviously fit for a man. He also wore brown pants, and brown boots. His shirt revealed a good deal of his toned chest, and his hair was in disarray. Elizabeth then ran out to him, grabbed his hand, causing him to immediately go wide eyed at her action and she did exactly as Sandy said she did._

_After she got the room ready and left with the blush Sandy spoke of, saying indeed what he said that she said, he looked at his bed with a perplexed expression. "Wh-What just..." His eyes then went incredibly wide and he held a hand to his mouth, staggering back against the wall, and then he slid down it, still in shock at the sound that escaped his mouth. "I-I can...I can speak!" He whispered out. "I...I need to ask that woman what's going on." Sandy got up and went down the hall to where there was candlelight coming from it, and noticed the door was cracked open slightly. Through the crack, he could see she was writing something, constantly having to put her hair behind her hair, because it wouldn't behave. 'Beautiful.' Sandy thought, but it was audible to everyone viewing the memory. He gently knocked on the door, grabbing her attention while he gently pushed the door open._

_"W-Wow...I didn't expect you to actually..."She trailed off with wide eyes as she looked at him._

_"No." He chuckled warmly as he put his hands in his pockets. "I'm not here for that. I'm not..." He briefly looked down at the floor before looking at her with a soft chuckle. "I'm not sure what kind of man you took me for, but it's certainly not one who will sleep with the first kind woman he sees, let alone on the first night of knowing her."_

_"I...I apologize if I sounded rude."_

_"You weren't rude." He told her as he walked forward. "Do you mind if I take a seat on your bed?"_

_"No, I don't mind at all." She answered as she set her quill down, watching him sit on the edge of her bed with his hands clasped together. "I was hoping you would want to talk."_

_"Hmm...well, I guess that depends on what you want to talk about." He mentioned._

_"Well, let's start with why such a handsome man was walking around in the village. Especially a man I haven't seen before. I've met everyone in this village. Mostly because they buy the fruits and vegetables that I grow, but I've met everyone. I haven't seen you, and the next village is a day's ride out...and you have no horse, nor any sign of camping out. So, what's your story?"_

_"You're very observant." He grinned with amused eyes._

_"Yes, well...I've met a lot of trouble in my life."_

_"Really? Like what?"_

_"I'm not exactly normal."_

_"Hmm..." Sandy grinned at her. "...Well, in my line of work, normal is an insult."_

_"And what is it that you do?"_

_"Ah uh..." He smirked waving his finger. "...you didn't explain what type of trouble you've gotten yourself into. A story for a story, my lady."_

_"My goodness..." She blinked at him with widened eyes. "...you're quite the gentleman aren't you?"_

_"I blame how I was raised." He shrugged with a slightly mischievous smirk. "Now come on. A woman who pulls a man...a complete stranger into her home from the cold, and gives him a bed, and says what you said to me. I'm sure you're story is quite interesting."_

_"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." She shook her head and went back to writing, but Sandy wasn't about to have that._

_He stood up and gently grabbed the quill from her hand, causing her to gasp lightly. "Try me." He whispered into her ear as he set the quill down, causing another gasp to leave her, and he made his way to sit back down on her bed, smirking at the flushed look on her face._

_"I...well..." She apparently gave up trying to give an excuse, because she let out a sigh and nodded her head. "Fine...but...just...promise you won't think me strange or evil."_

_"Trust me, you have nothing to worry about from me."_

_"You say that..." She smirked before taking her quill and grabbing another piece of paper. She drew something on it and when she was done, she showed it to Sandy._

_"You're strange or...EVIL...because you can draw a bunny rabbit? Oh no! I'll alert the nearest official!" He laughed out._

_"Hardy har har. No...watch this." She held a hand out in front of the drawing and the bunny jumped into her hand, causing Sandy's amusement to immediately die and be replaced by awe as the now brought to life drawing started hopping around the room. Soon, it went back to the paper and became a drawing once more._

_"By the stars..." Sandy breathed out, holding a hand to his mouth, looking at her wide eyed._

_"I...I asked you not to think me strange or evil."_

_"Are you kidding me?" He scoffed with a wide grin. "That was amazing!"_

_"What?" She asked as she set the paper back down._

_"Whoever thought you evil for that is a fool! That was incredible! Can you do that for all drawings or just bunnies?"_

_"I-I can do it for all drawings." She answered with a tilt of her head. "Y-You don't mind?"_

_"Of course not! Watch!" He told her as he carefully summoned dream sand into the palm of his hand, and he turned it into a bunny for her. He then waved his hand and it started to hop around the room like her's did. Once the Bunny was gone, he grinned at her smiling face. 'She's remarkable!' He thought as he saw her smile broaden._

_"Y-You're different too!"_

_"Yes." He laughed out, giving a wide smile._

_Her eyes narrowed at him for a moment, but then they shot wide with a strange sort of realization. "A-Are you...are you the Sandman?"_

_"Y-You believe in me?"_

_"Well, yes. I don't see why not. Just because I can't see something doesn't mean it's not there."_

_"You...I know this is beyond rude, but...may I ask how old you are?"_

_"I'm twenty-three. I'll be twenty-four come April." She smiled at him as she propped her elbow on the desk and rested her hand on her fist._

_"And you still believe..." He chuckled out in awe. "Incredible. Well...yes...since you asked...I am the Sandman. However, I look different usually."_

_"Do you think you can conjure what you normally look like?"_

_"Sure." He nodded his head and stood up. He then summoned a large amount of dream sand and formed a ball next to him. He then tapped the dream ball, and it turned into a perfect representation of the normal Sandy with accurate height and shape. "This is what I looked like. The height and the shape."  
_

_"My, your other form is quite dashing as well."_

_"Y-You really think so? I'm not too short?"_

_"Yes. I do, and you're not too short. It's still you, so what should height matter?" She smiled up at Sandy, causing a blush to appear on his face._

_Soon the memory faded and was replaced with a new one. Sandy woke up and he smelled something. "Food? I just got here last night...What time is it?" He wondered, but his internal clock told him what time it was. "Six A.M?" He asked with widened eyes. He got up from his bed and walked towards the smell. When he walked in, he stopped abruptly at the sight he saw. In the kitchen was the woman who invited him into her home in a very unconventional manner, and she was cooking while swaying her hips lightly to an unheard song, and his jaw dropped as he watched her. 'She can cook.' He stated in his mind in pleased surprise, but then his eyes trailed back to her hips and his grin widened. 'And her hips...WAIT WHAT!?' He thought as he quickly shook his head. 'I got here last night...how inappropriate!'_

_"Oh! You're up!" She exclaimed with a bright smile, catching his attention from his thoughts._

_"Yes, and you're cooking. I'm lucky it was YOU who pulled me into a house."_

_"Oh, you better believe it you're lucky!" She laughed as she set down the plates and glasses. "I'm the best cook in this entire village! You better be hungry."_

_"With that delicious smell, how could I not be?"_

_Soon, the memory faded again and reappeared with another one. Sandy was looking around the house and couldn't find Elizabeth. "Elizabeth?" He called out as he looked in all the rooms in the house. "Where could she be at this hour?" He asked, but then he looked out the window towards the pond, and he saw her walking towards it. "Ah, there she is." He walked out to meet her, but she didn't notice him. So, he decided to lean against a tree silently, but then he stood straight once again as he watched the moonlight shine down on her. His eyes grew wide as he watched her dance alone next to the pond, but still a safe distance to where she wouldn't have to worry about footing. 'Be still my beating heart! She's gorgeous, gracious, kind, funny, intelligent, she can cook, do magic I've never seen before, garden, sing, prank better than North, AND she can dance!? Sh-She's perfect. I...' Before he finished that thought, he watched as she began to dance alone some more, but this time while pretending to dance with a partner. His eyes widened as he held a hand to his heart. 'I-I'm in love! I'm truly in love!' He swooned in his mind. He then moved to her and while she was in mid step, he effortlessly moved into her form, placing a hand on her hip while the other gently grasped the one in the air._

_"Ah! Sanderson!" She squeaked as a blush crept on her face. "How long have you been standing there?"_

_"Long enough to know that a lady such as yourself shouldn't dance alone. Come, allow me to lead you."_

_"B-But...there's no music...and what if people see?"_

_"One, it's called imagination for a reason, and so what if people see? It's their loss that they didn't get to dance with you." He smirked at her and began to elegantly lead her into a gentle waltz under the moonlight._

_"Where did you learn to dance?" She asked as he twirled her._

_"I could ask you the same." He hummed in delight as he looked at her beautiful maple colored eyes._

_"I asked first, Sanderson."_

_"Very well." He chuckled low as he twirled her. "I was born into a noble family. I told you a little about me...more than what most know. Before I became a member of The League of Star Captains...I was a prince."_

_"A-A...A WHAT!?" She gasped as her eyes widened considerably in shock._

_"A prince." He repeated as he gently smiled down at her._

_"O-Oh my goodness! A-And I've been so..."_

_"...Wonderful, stunning, beautiful, amazing, caring, kind, adventurous, mischievous, delightful, a damn good cook, and an excellent dancer? Yes, I would most certainly have to agree."_

_"Y-You...those things you just said..."_

_"I truly mean them. Now, to be quite honest...I didn't think I would ever fall in love with anyone, but with everything I've seen of you, and the time I spent with you...well, how could I not fall in love with such an astounding woman? However, I do believe the real burst of realization was when I saw you dancing alone a few moments ago. The most I've seen you do as far as dancing goes was when you would sway those hips of yours that I find myself unable to keep my eyes from."_

_"My goodness! Y-You're in love with...ME?"_

_"Trust me, my lady...if I didn't feel anything for you, I wouldn't be talking while dancing. Nor would I smile near as much as you've made me smile in the past year. If you'll allow me...and I know it's terribly sudden, but I'm pretty sure it's your fault with how you brought me into your home...but if you'll allow me...I would like to ask for your hand."_

_"Y-You're a-already holding it..." She breathed out as the blush deepened, and her breathing became uneven for a moment._

_"No, Elizabeth." He chuckled lightly as he ended the dance. He then gave her hand a gentle kiss before looking at her once more. "I mean in marriage. Will you marry me, Elizabeth?"_

_"I...I...YES!"_

_"Are you sure? That sounded a lot like hesitation to me."_

_"Yes! I'm sure! I love you!"_

_Sandy nodded his head and brought his hand up to her face with a loving gaze. "And I love you."_

The memory faded and Jack woke up to look at Sandy, and he blinked a few times to allow his vision to focus.  _"But...did she know all of who you really are? I mean...what about her? I mean...she...you...did the two of you really get married? What happened that caused you to leave?"_

_"Yes, I told her of me and the Guardians, and yes we truly got married, but I also warned her ahead of time that there may or will be a time when I need to go back to protect the children. I warned her before she married me. She decided to marry me anyway, because she loved me that much. Now, what Cupid did to you? That was all an act, because really...she's super shy. She's just a bit much and is a great actress. Elizabeth however, she was all herself constantly."_

_"I'm glad you had that. She seemed wonderful."_

_"Oh, she was."_

The memory faded and they were back in the hallway again and watched as the door morphed to become two star points as it flew into its slot. What they could make out was that Sandy was part of the image. "Oh my!" Kozmotis grinned wildly. "She truly  _was_  something!"

"Oh, believe me...I know. Let's go to the next door." Sandy moved to the next door, and read the date on it. "Ah...this one..."

"What is it?"

"Well...perhaps it's because it involves me...but this should be when Jack and I went after Pitch's Nightmare horses." Without letting anyone say anything else, he opened the door, and watched as he had just shot into the air, throwing Jack further into the air.

 _"Go, Jack!"_ Sandy shouted with his mind, as he went after another set of Nightmares.

The battle went on for a some time, but then Jack was on the edge of North's sleigh, and he noticed Sandy fighting, surrounded by Nightmares. _"We gotta help Sandy!"_ Jack shouted, and North immediately made his way to him, but then Pitch hit Sandy with a nightmare arrow, causing Sandy to drop his whips. _"No!"_ Jack shouted and immediately started flying towards Sandy as fast as he could. _'Not Sandy! Anyone BUT SANDY!'_

 _"Jack!"_ He heard Bunny shout, but he chose to ignore it.

 _"Don't fight the fear little man!"_ Pitch laughed out .

Tooth tried to go after Jack but the nightmares swarmed her.  _"Hurry, Hurry, Jack!"_ North shouted as he pulled back on the reigns.

 _"I'd say sweet dreams...but there aren't any left."_ As Sandy was consumed by the nightmare sand, he stood proudly and accepted his fate.

 _"No!"_ Jack stopped for only a moment as he realized what just happened. _"NO!"_ He shouted as he rushed towards Pitch. The Nightmare Kind then sent a tidal wave of Nightmare sand to Jack, causing him to hesitate for a moment, which allowed them to surround him. _'No! Sandy...he's gone!'_ A sonic boom was heard and there was glowing blue light coming from Jack and the nightmares. _'Sandy was the closest thing I had to a Father...'_ He jolted back from the nightmares, his body giving off pure electrical and icy energy with an even brighter white and icy light. _'...and you killed him, YOU BASTARD!'_ He slammed his hands together and eradicated all of the nightmare sand until it struck Pitch out of the sky, but also causing him to fall backwards, unconscious.

 _"JACK!"_ North shouted with pure worry, concern, and astonishment in his voice.

Tooth flew up to Jack and caught him, taking him gently back into the sleigh. _"J-Jack...how did you do that?"_ She questioned in a state of awe and shock.

 _"I-I...I didn't know I could!"_ He whispered out as he then gave a curious look to his staff.  _'Just how DID I do that? How did my body KNOW how to do that?'_

When the memory faded, they were taken back to the hallway and they all watched as the door turned itself into one star piece which confused them all as it fit itself into the second to last slot. "There's one more? But...that was..." Sandy trailed off, but then he remembered what he had just witnessed. "That was...what Jack did..."

"His soul cried out." Kozmotis finished for him with a hint of guilt in his voice. "His SOUL remembered who you were even if he didn't...and he just lost you. He watched you die...so...he..."

"Why do the two of you look extremely upset by it?" Tooth asked cautiously.

"B-Because...that..." Sandy trailed off as he ran his hands through his hair. "That blast he used...it could've killed him if his soul wasn't strong enough. Spirit or not...STARSHINE! GENERAL OR NOT! It would've killed him if he wasn't strong enough! The fact that he was able to answer you so quickly...or at all for that matter...that was more than impressive...that's completely unheard of. Especially with what that blast is called."

"What's the name of it?" North questioned with concerned eyes.

"The Last Light of the Last Fight." Kozmotis answered with a heavy heart. "It basically means...a self sacrificing eruption of energy. When Pitch sensed he was still alive...he chuckled from the pure shock of it. Only the purest of Soul Magic users can use it without ACTUALLY dying. However...I think it may have a lot to do with the fact that...not only is he a Soul Magic user, but a winter spirit, a spirit chosen by the moon, a being born to be a Guardian, and the fact that he's Sanderson's son...and he is the product of something truly amazing."

"What would that be?" Bunny asked, growing even more curious the more Kozmotis talked.

"Sanderson found his soulmate. You don't usually hear about soulmates having children...but...a soulmate is another word for an absolute one true love. Little Prince was not only born with Golden Age blood, which already made him plenty powerful...but along with it...he was born out of  _pure true love_."

"A bit overpowered...ain't he?" Bunny chuckled lightly. "Well, what's Jacky without a few surprises?"

"You're right!" Sandy agreed with a wide smile. "Now...I believe this will be the last door for this path. Let's see what happened..." Sandy opened the door and almost in a flash they were all brought to Jack back in the ravine that Pitch tossed him down, and he looked at Baby Tooth, and she nodded her head as she put her hand on his memory box.

 _'Alright...I wanted to figure out who I was anyway...'_  He thought, and everyone gasped as he pressed his fingers onto it, and the entirety of their surroundings opened up like a kaleidoscope, and they watched as Jack played with children when he was young. He told stories using shadows, he went on Eater Egg Hunts, he kept the children happy, he hung from trees, and they re-watched him save his sister, but when that was over, and Manny changed his hair and eye color like he requested, they were all brought back to the ravine with Jack breathing hard.  _"Did you...did you see that!?"_  Baby Tooth shook her head as she held onto her body.  _"It was me! I had a family! I had a sister! I SAVED HER!"_  His chuckles quickly died down as a look of realization dawned on him. _'And that wasn't the only time!'_  He looked up at the moon and his breathing grew slightly heavier.  _"That's why you chose me. I'm...I'm a Guardian!"_  He then looked around the cavern frantically.  _"We gotta get out of here."_  He looked to the ground and noticed his staff.  _'My staff!'_  He shouted internally. He crouched down and tried to put the pieces together, but it didn't work.  _"UGH!"_  He groaned out, but then stood up and tried again.  _'Focus! C'mon! Bunny's protection of Hope! North's protection of Wonder! Tooth's protection of Memories! M-My F-Father's protection over Dreams! And MY protection over Joy and Fun!'_  Almost immediately, the staff started glowing and fusing back together.  _'It's working!'_  Once it was completely fused, Jack flew high and let out a carefree sound the others haven't heard from him before.  _"C'mon Baby Tooth! I owe you one!"_

Then, rather than ending, the memory blinked and it was when they were all together, surrounding Sandy, happy for his return.  _'Oh...'_  Jack thought as he watched Sandy conjure large dinosaurs, manta ray, dolphins, fish, and snowflakes out of dream sand.  _'...and he has no idea I'm his son...and that I'm alive!'_  A snowball fight soon started and he was brought out of his thoughts.

Soon, he heard Sandy's inner voice. He turned to face him and watched as Sandy gave him a salute of some sort.  _'It's so good to see you again, Jack! I'm proud of you!'_

The memory faded like the others, and the door transformed like the others, but once the star slotted itself into the final place, they all noticed that it was an image of Sandy and Elizabeth looking down at a small bundle together. Then, they were suddenly back in the hallway with a brief bright glow.


	9. Bunny's Path

Sandy collapsed to the floor onto his knees once the glow faded from the hallway, and he immediately started crying. "Sandy?" Bunny asked as he moved to crouch next to his friend, placing a paw on his back.

Sandy looked at Bunny with tears in his eyes, his heart filled to the brim with something he never thought he would be able to feel. "H-He c-called me Father, Aster! I...By the stars...h-how c-can it m-make me this happy!? H-He knows and so r-readily c-called me father...despite me n-not being there o-or knowing who h-he was! I...Aster, my heart hurts with how h-happy I am!"

Bunny turned so that he could wrap his arms around Sandy, giving him a comforting hug. "He's your son, Sandy." He told him. "He already felt it in his very soul that ya were his Father when he didn't even have a shred of memory of who he was before becomin' a spirit...and for over THREE HUNDRED YEARS you thought you would never see him again, or get to know him...but you got more than just a visit."

"Aster is right." Kozmotis answered as he walked towards them, causing Bunny to end the hug as they both looked up at him. "You got more than just a visit. You gained your son's love...even when he didn't know who you were, and if we are able to save The Little Prince, you will have the rest of eternity with your son."

"Oh my...e-eternity...with my son...Jack." Sandy cried a little more at the mere thought, but he forced himself to hold some composure as he stood back up and wiped his tears. "Right...who's path is next?"

"Th-That'd be mine, mate." Bunny answered as he tried to stand a bit taller. "This isn't going to be good for me. I...I don't think Jack has a single good memory of me."

"We'll just have to go through and see, won't we?" Sandy gave him a slight nod and placed his hand on Bunny's back.

"Wait..." Bunny narrowed his eyes and started looking around. "...nothin's changed."

"Yes it has!" Tooth squeaked out, looking up at the sky. "Look!"

They all did as she said, and gasped at what they saw. "Stars!" North breathed out. "Sandy, wasn't it your job in your old life to unlock and move wishing stars?"

"Stars in general really, but yeah." Sandy whispered out in awe. "Wait! The first path opened up the night sky...and revealed the moon...but that must've been because Jack's most important memory was speaking to the moon. Then, the second path opened up the path...but...the chains..."

"Little Prince and I spent a great deal of time at his pond both when he was mortal and as a spirit. I spoke to him often explaining that as the Boogeyman I was trapped in my own mind...that could be what the chains were for...and the speaking at his pond...well..."

"Right! And...the lock behind us in my path was a star!"

"The locks and the memories are keys to unlocking the area of his soul!" Tooth whispered out as a look of realization crossed her features.

"Let's hurry down Bunny's path." Sandy suggested, and they all stepped onto his path, causing everything to shift around him. However, they weren't met with a hallway of doors like before. This time they were in a tunnel of fresh green grass, and there were other tunnels along the wall where the doors should be. "Where...?"

"My Warren?" Bunny questioned before Sandy could finish. "These are the tunnels to my Warren...well...they're different obviously, but..." Bunny tried to shake it off as he walked towards the first tunnel. "This one says...April...6th...1706. It's...it's when we first saw each other...I..."

"You...were going to open the door, right?" Sandy questioned with a small smirk.

"R-Right..." Bunny nodded his head and placed a hand on the stone door, causing everything around them to vanish, but slowly reappear with young Jack running to get eggs, but all of the other kids got them before he did. Then, he went a bit further, and tripped on a rock, sending him tumbling not only through a shrubs and a thicket, but slightly down a hill as well.

 _"Oof!"_ Jack said as he finally landed.  _"Ow..."_  He groaned out as he held his head, but then he looked up.  _"Oh..."_

_"I...I...k-kid...I..."_

_"And you talk!"_  Jack whispered out with wide eyes as he stared up at Bunny.

 _"Y-Yeah...I can talk."_  Bunny nodded his head with his ears flat against his head, seemingly nervous, but then his eyes looked a little closer at Jack, and he crouched down on his haunches.  _"Took a mighty tumble, huh?"_

Jack stood up and tilted his head at Bunny just before wrapping his arms around him.  _"It's okay."_

 _"Wh-What?"_  Bunny asked as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Jack.

 _"You look like your scared of something. When I'm scared...Mama gives me big hugs and tells me It's okay."_  Jack released Bunny from the hug and gave him a bright smile.  _"So...you're the Easter Bunny, right?"_

 _"Y-Yeah."_  He nodded his head, his ears lifting slightly.

_"Wow! You're better than I thought! You're better than the stories Mama tells!"_

_"Stories?"_  Bunny tilted his head with wide and curious eyes.

_"Yeah! Mama tells lots of stories...anyway, you're really tall! Oh! You kinda talk funny...but that's okay. That makes you different, and Mama says that Normal is an insult! So...YAY! You're different! I'm different too!"_

_"Yeah, I can tell."_  Bunny laughed.  _"You're...you're not afraid of me?"_

_"NO! You're the Easter Bunny! Easter is my favorite holiday!"_

_"Oh if only North could hear ya!"_

_"North! Santa!"_

_"I'm sorry...come again?"_

_"North. You said North. North is Santa."_

_"H-How in all the stars do you know that?"_

_"Mama's stories! She tells the best stories!"_

_"But that was a long time ago...well...who told her the stories?"_

_"Daddy! Daddy is the bestest! He does important things! I don't see him much, but he's...he's the best!"_

_"W-Well then...I guess the story got passed down somehow. Perhaps Katherine has been telling it..."_  Bunny shook his head and returned his attention to Jack once more.  _"Alright ya little ankle biter...Ya need to get back to your Ma, alright? And hey...I see ya don't have any Easter eggs..."_

_"Yeah...It's because Mama said I shouldn't use my different to get them."_

_"Alright...I'm intrigued...how are ya different?"_

Jack's eyes lit up like stars in the night at his question.  _"You really wanna know?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Okay...watch..."_  He held a hand up to the trees above them and giggled.  _"Wind...blow through the trees."_  He whispered, and to Bunny's immense shock, the wind did just that.  _"Wind...hug Bunny."_  Then, the wind seemed to wrap around Bunny, ruffling his fur.  _"Wind...pick me up!"_  Jack giggled as the wind lifted him up off the ground and gently set him down.  _"Thank you, Wind...you can go now and be yourself."_  And the wind did just that.

_"C-Crikey! Y-You h-have magic!"_

_"Yeah...it makes me different."_  Jack replied sadly, and Bunny took notice.

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Well...the other kids...they don't like me. I...I don't have any friends. I'm different. They've seen me do it before, and...well...they're mean to me...but it's okay...I know I'm good. I WILL be good. I'm already good, because I'm different. Mama's different too, but she doesn't show anyone but me and my little sister. A-Are you scared of me too?"_

_"Nah..."_  Bunny chuckled as he ruffled Jack's hair.  _"...I'm different too, watch this."_  Bunny moved his paw over to a large gash on Jack's leg that was bleeding quite a bit, but wasn't there in the earlier memory of Jack telling his mother of the events.  _"Hold still for me, okay?"_

_"Okay."_

_"Good."_  Bunny's paw started glowing, and the wound started healing as if it were never there in the first place.  _"Can't do this for all of your wounds, but that one was the worst of it. A few scratches ain't gonna hurt ya none. Not when they're that small."_

 _"Wow! Thank you Easter Bunny!"_  Jack shouted in excitement at seeing his leg healed, and then he jumped at Bunny again, wrapping his arms tightly around him.  _"I hope someday we can be good friends!"_  He told him as he ended the hug.

 _"K-Kid...y-you're a wonder."_  Bunny stuttered out, but as he looked to Jack's empty Easter basket again he tapped his foot once, and made a Googie appear, and it was the exact one Jack had in the previous memory involving this day.  _"This is for you."_  He said and he placed it in Jack's basket.  _"Now, get on my back. The other little one's should be gone, so I can take ya up."_

Jack did as he was told, and got on Bunny's back and rode until Bunny stopped, and he got off with his special egg.  _"Thanks Bunches, Easter Bunny!"_

At his words, they were immediately back in the tunnel in the blink of an eye, and they watched as the tunnel disappeared. With curious and confused expresions, they turned behind them and saw that there was a window similar to the one in Jamie's room. "What the...?" Bunny tilted his head at it. It didn't lead anywhere obviously, but it it was just a window.

"Only one way to find out." Sandy said pointing at the next door.

Bunny nodded his head and activated the next door. "Hmm...the door said 1972..." Bunny mumbled and then noticed Jack was walking in a lush green forest and it just became morning.

 _"Oh! It's Easter! Better get higher ground!"_  Jack lifted his arms, and allowed the wind to take him into the trees, and everyone watched as Bunny jumped out of a hole with the Googies going to their hiding places. He also his about fifteen on his own in his own way just before going back in the hole.

They waited a few more moments and suddenly they saw children running into the forest.  _"I'm gonna get the brightest!"_  A little girl shouted.

 _"No I am!"_  Another shouted.

Meanwhile, Jack just rested in the tree on his belly, his head propped up into his hands while his elbows rested on the branch as clutched tightly to his staff in the right crook of his arm.  _"Let's wait and see."_  Jack whispered out, but something caught his attention so he flew down towards the children, careful not to touch the ground. Once he got to where he wanted, he noticed there was a little girl, smaller than the rest, and not as fast.  _"Oh no...this won't do."_  He smirked and grabbed four eggs that were ahead of everyone else, and as she tried and tried, she just couldn't get to any in time. So, when it was time to leave, Jack waited for a lot of the kids to rush to their parents while she didn't have any in her basket, and he hid them almost directly in her line of sight.  _"Right here!"_  He whispered, and as if she could hear him, she looked up and saw a group of four eggs and quickly put them into her basket before running to tell her mom that she was the luckiest because all of her eggs were in the same place.

The memory ended and they were once again in the tunnel. The smaller tunnel disappeared, but the Guardians and Kozmotis were more focused on the window that seemed to be drawing an Easter egg on the window that was now also frosted. "Alright then..." Kozmotis breathed out with curiosity lacing his tone. "...now I really wanna see the next one."

"I am curious as well." North hummed as his eyes shone with wonder.

Bunny walked to the next tunnel and his eyes widened at what he read. "Bunny? What's the date?" Tooth asked.

"I-It's not a date. It's a name. It says 'Jamie'. This must be where Jack got him to believe in me." Without hesitation, Bunny activated the memory and they were inside Jamie's room.

 _"Okay, look."_ Jamie started. _"You and I are obviously at what they call...a crossroads. So, here's what's gonna happen. If it wasn't a dream and if you ARE real, then you have to prove it...like right now."_ The Guardians and Kozmotis watched as Jack lowered himself to the window to get a better view with guilty eyes. _"I've believed in you for a long time, okay? Like...my whole life in fact. So you kind of owe me now. You don't have to do much, just a little sign so I know. Anything...anything at all."_ Jamie begged his stuffed animal with a small glimmer of hope still left in his eyes, but when nothing he happened, he tossed the stuffed rabbit onto the floor and sighed. _"I knew it."_ Jack then carefully opened the window and walked into Jamie's room. He tapped the glass with his staff, causing it to frost over.  _'Even if he won't believe in me...he should at least believe in Bunny.'_ He thought to himself as he started to draw an Easter egg on the frosted glass, causing everyone to gasp.

"The gate in the tunnel! The one with the weird window! It had the same thing!" Bunny exclaimed as he continued to watch the memory.

Jamie's eyes shot up and watched diligently as the egg seemingly drew itself. Then, Jack started to draw a bunny and he heard Jamie whisper, _"He's real!"_ Jack couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face after he finished drawing the bunny. _'That's right, Jamie!'_ He cheered internally before turning back to the frost bunny drawing. _'Alright...just like what Mother would do with her drawings._ _She taught me once...can I still-?'_ To his surprise and delight the bunny jumped into his hands. He opened his eyes to see a frosted bunny blinking at him before hopping around Jamie, just like his mother's drawings would. Both Jack and Jamie laughed joyfully at the bunny that hopped around in the air before it exploded into a snow flurry falling from what seemed to be Jamie's ceiling. "Snow?" He asked curiously, until a snow flake touched his nose. _"Jack Frost."_ Jamie said aloud with a small smile while the others gasped in shock.

_"Did he just say..."_

_"Jack Frost?"_ Jamie asked the air, thinking he heard someone in his room.

Jack let out a breath he obviously hadn't known he was holding as his heart pounded with disbelief at the same time. _"He said it again..."_ He looked down towards the floor as the hope and wonder continued to rise up into his chest. _"He said...YOU said..."_

Jamie turned around and his jaw dropped in shock.  _"Jack Frost!"_

 _"That's right! But...but that's me! Jack Frost! That's my name!"_ Jack looked at Jamie, and he felt that he might burst with how much Hope was bubbling in his chest. _"You said my name!"_ Jack then noticed that Jamie was staring right where he was standing and the hope only continued to rise, and his heart starting beating faster, and Bunny could feel it all. _"Wait...Can..Can you hear me?"_ Jamie nodded and Jack felt his breathing become ragged with how much his hope was risen. _"Can...Can...Can you...Can you see me?"_ When Jamie nodded his eyes begin to well up with happy tears. Jack laughed out breathlessly as his greatest hope was just confirmed. _"He sees me. He...He sees me!"_ He laughed and cried out as all of the hope and wonder practically exploded in his chest as he did a back flip of joy onto Jamie's desk.

 _"You just made it snow!"_ Jamie shouted with glee.

_"I know!"_

_"In my room!"_

_"I know!"_

_"You're real!?"_

_"Yeah man! Who do you think brings you all the blizzards and...and the snow days!? And you remember when you went flying on the sled the other day?"_

_"That was you?"_

_"That was me!"_

_"Cool!"_

_"I know right!?"_

_"But what about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy? I mean, what about..."_

_"Real! Real! REAL! Every one of us is real!"_

The memory vanished in a puff of snow, and they were out on the pond again, looking at the paths with names which was strange, because the last paths took them back to the initial hallways with the doors. They all looked at one another, slightly confused, but their confusion was short lived when Sandy tapped Bunny on the shoulder and pointed to the the ground above the pond. "Bunny...look." When they all turned to where he was pointing, they gasped slightly. It was Jack's frost bunny, and it started hopping around the lake, and with each hop, many trees grew behind it until it made a full circle around them and the pond. Once it was done with its path, it exploded in a puff of snow which soon spread underneath the trees and around the pond as well. "Well then...Jack's soul is certainly interesting."

"No kiddin'." Bunny breathed out in a slight state of shock. "So...that's how he did it. That's how he got Jamie to believe again." He then placed a hand on Sandy's shoulder and smiled at him softly. "Sandy, mate...your son...he used your wife's magic...he used the magic SHE was able to TEACH him, and he used it to get Jamie to not only believe in me...but accidentally and miraculously enough...got the little ankle biter to believe in him."

"I-I saw that. It...It was beautiful." Sandy smiled as he let a few more tears fall. He had thought by now his tears would be spent. He thought by now there would be nothing left, but at this point, his heart and soul only ached even further, because of everything he had missed in Jack's past, and he knew that he would always be left wondering what would've happened if he had just flown a little lower, or at least visited Elizabeth ONCE. It would be something he could never get back, and it hurt him greatly, but it was also something that made him so overwhelmingly happy, because he got to spend more time with his son than anyone else has gotten to spend time with their children. "Let's go to the next one. North, I believe it's your turn...North?" Sandy turned and saw a forlorn look on North's face. "What's wrong?"

"I...I have feeling in my belly...I know one of the memories that will be behind there...and it is memory that I cannot forgive myself for. Worse than hitting Jack with sleigh..."

"Well..."

"No." North interrupted. "You don't understand, Sandy..." North shook his head and now it was his turn to cry. "...I have never once abandoned a child...b-but...o-on Easter..."

"I'll have to see that for myself won't I?" Sandy gave a half grin urging everyone to follow him down North's icy path.


	10. North's Path

Once they walked down North's path, they were all pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually the North Pole. However, it wasn't just that, but it was an area they know Jack hadn't seen yet. It was where all their guest rooms were at. North let out a heavy sigh with a heavy heart as he walked towards one of the doors and he read the date. "What?" He whispered out with a tilt of his head.

"What is it?" Tooth questioned curiously.

"It...the date...it is from Jack was a child, but I...oh..." North breathed out realization quickly raising along with his brow. "How could I not have remembered after seeing young Jack..."

"What?" Sandy asked as he placed a gently hand on North's arm that read 'Nice'.

"Was one of the first times I was seen."

"But you've told me you've been seen by kids before." Sandy stated with a curious tilt of his head.

"Yes, but this is different. Other kids would see me, giggle, and then go up to their room. Jack...did not. He...he gave me something."

"Oh, I've got to see this!" Bunny laughed out as he walked to the door and opened it himself without seeing the date.

The memory appeared before them in the form of a blizzard cyclone of sorts, and once it was settled, they saw Jack coming out of his room, rubbing his eyes. They looked to the hearth, and saw North just arriving.  _"Santa?"_  Jack's voice called, startling North into standing up straight, and clumsily falling into the large chair in front of the hearth.  _"Oh..."_  Jack whispered out as he rushed over to North.  _"Are you alright?"_  He asked as he placed a small hand on North's leg.

 _"What?"_  North asked him as looked down at Jack.  _"What are you doing up?"_

 _"I had a bad dream, but it's gone now. Manny helped."_  Jack stated calmly with a wide smile as he pointed to the ceiling.

 _"Did he now?"_  North's eyes went wide with wonder and curiosity.  _"That still does not explain what you are doing up? Why did you not go back to sleep?"_

_"I was going to check on my little sister to make sure she didn't have any bad dreams. If she did, I was gonna get my Mama up so that she could make them go away and then I was gonna go back to bed...but then I saw you, and I'm sorry I scared you, North."_

_"Wait..."_  North blinked at him a few times as he stood up from the chair to return back to setting the presents down.  _"...you know my name other than Santa?"_

_"Yeah. From Mama's stories."_

_"Oh? And what stories does she tell?"_

_"She tells the stories of Sandman, North, Toothy, and Easter Bunny."_

_"Toothy, huh?"_

_"I can't say her name."_  Jack blushed as his hands clasped behind his back.

_"I like it. I'll have to use it on her some time. So, do you know who told your mother the stories?"_

_"Daddy did. He's the bestest!"_  He shout-whispered with a wide joyful grin.

_"Is your Father here?"_

_"No...but that's okay. He's out doing important stuff, and I see him sometimes."_

_"Huh...and um...do you know who taught your Father?"_

_"That's a secret."_  Jack giggled.

 _"Alright."_  North smiled as he set down the last present.  _"So...another question..."_  North started, but Jack tilted his head at him.

_"What about the other children?"_

_"I'm a lot faster than I look, Jackson."_

_"Wow, you DO know my name!"_

_"Yes, and I know your sister's name too. I know the names of all the children of the world. So, my question is...why didn't you just go to your sister's room or back to your room after seeing me?"_

_"Well that's a silly question. It would be rude to see you and ignore you. So, I came to say hello and thank you."_

_"Thank you for what?"_

_"For being you."_  He said so innocently, but then a flash of remembrance crossed over his features.  _"Oh! Stay there! I made you something last year just in case I ever met you!"_  Jack rushed into his room, leaving a grinning North. Everyone could hear the child rummaging through things, but he apparently found it, because a bunch of things were closed and he brought out a box.  _"I was nine when I made this."_

 _"A present for Santa, huh?"_  North couldn't help but laugh warmly at the box.

 _"Merry Christmas, North!"_  Jack whispered with excitement.  _"Open it!"_  He said after North gently took it from him.

 _"Alright."_  North nodded his head and took the lid off the box, and his eyes went wide with wonder at what was in the box.  _"And you...you said that YOU made this? No one else, and no one helped you?"_

 _"I don't have anyone to help me. I don't have friends."_  Jack shook his head, still wearing a smile, and the Guardians' hearts broke every time they heard it.  _"I made it all on my own. I remember in Mama's stories that you had a very good horse, so...I made you one."_

North reached into the box with shaky hands and pulled out a very well carved and painted white horse. "North...ain't that the same horse on your desk?" Bunny quickly asked.

"Yeah." He smiled lightly as he watched the memory.

"I thought you made it." Bunny stated, slightly shocked at the craftsmanship of the horse.

"No, he did. It's also why it sits on my desk. It is a first and only present I have ever gotten from a human child that was not with us in the old old days."

 _"Do you like it?"_  Jack asked carefully, obviously growing a bit nervous, because North still hadn't said anything.

_"I...I love it. I'm impressed. How old did you say you were when you made this?"_

_"I made it last year before Christmas last year...I was nine."_

_"Ah...so you are ten now?"_

_"Today actually."_  He beamed up at him.  _"My birthday is on Christmas. I'm eleven now."_

_"My, my...Well, Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Jackson. I promise you...this horse will go on desk back at my workshop."_

_"Good! Thank you for the presents...Santa."_

_"Hmm..."_  North chuckled out.  _"...you're very welcome. Goodnight."_

_"Goodnight."_

The memory left the same it came, and they were back in the hallway at North's workshop where the memory doors were. They watched as the door turned into Jack's center of the doll North had given him after the battle with Pitch, but it didn't go anywhere. It just stayed there, smiling at them. "We gonna be here for the whole doll? That's five more memories." Bunny crossed his arms as he looked at the doll version of Jack on the wall. North had made one for them all when he finally picked away at them and what made them, them. He saw North give Jack his own, and to say he was impressed was an understatement, because he was with North since he got there after they activated the lights, and he couldn't have possibly had the time to carve and meticulously paint the small doll in that time without anyone noticing, and everything was too hectic at the time anyway. Which meant that North had known for a long time, but how was the question and perhaps he would learn that.

"Well, remember, we've seen memories that didn't involve us, but he was thinking of us strongly." North stated, bringing Bunny out of his deep state of thought. "I will be honest...I have not made the rest of doll. So, I do hope that we see what his doll is. I have suspicion, but we will see."

"Well, what are we waitin' for?" Bunny asked with a slight smirk. "Let's see what else the little troublemaker thought of ya."

"Yes, let's." Kozmotis beamed brightly. "He had told me in a dream we shared that he gave you a present, and I thought it was amusing back then, but oh...that was far better than what my mind had conjured."

"Yes well...I'm still adjusting to you not being Pitch." North told him honestly as he moved to the next door.

"Fair enough." Kozmotis shrugged. "What's the date say?"

"December 11, 1711. A year before Jack was turned into spirit." He answered and opened the door.

As the memory settled, Jack could be seen being surrounded by children by the lake.  _"Jack! Jack! Jack! Tell us a story Jack!"_

 _"Oh? What should it be I wonder..."_  Jack rubbed at his chin, but then something caught his attention somewhere in the forest, causing him to smile widely. Then, he sent a joyful look towards the children.  _"Would all of you like to meet a friend of mine?"_

 _"Who is it?"_  Sarah asked with an excited smile.

_"Well, she's really nice. She visits me often. She's super creative. Oh, and she's just as mischievous as I am, and despite me talking about her, you haven't met her yet. Do you all know her?"_

"YEAH! Go get her! YEAH!"

"Who is he talkin' 'bout?" Bunny questioned as his ears twitched in curiosity while they watched Jack run away, but didn't follow.

 _"I don't know."_  North shrugged his shoulders, then everyone's eyes went wide as they heard the giggling and laughing of a familiar voice.

 _"Jack!"_  The voice giggled.

 _"Oh come on! You know you love it!"_  Jack laughed out.

 _"Maybe so..."_  She continued to giggle as she was pulled into view.  _"...but that doesn't mean I appreciate being dragged. Honestly, you're worse than North sometimes. It's like I gained another brother that's twice the trouble."_

Jack gave her a dramatic bow.  _"Why thank you, Katherine!"_  He chuckled, and suddenly there was an eruption of cheers.

 _"Katherine! It's Katherine!"_  One of the children shouted.  _"It's Mother Goose!"_

_"Are you and Jack gonna tell us a story?"_

Katherine smiled at the children brightly before turning to face Jack.  _"You are so devoted to them. You tell them a story every month."_

_"Yes, well...it helps when you know two of the best story tellers."_

Katherine crossed her arms with wide eyes and a small smirk on her face.  _"Oh, and now you're a flatterer?"_  She chuckled low and looked to the children.  _"Well, what story will it be then, children?"_

 _"What about the one about how you and Jack met? We haven't heard that one yet!"_  Sarah bounced up and down in her seat with a wide smile.

Jack smiled at her and nodded his head.  _"Does that sound good to you, Katherine?"_

 _"Only if you're okay being embarrassed."_  She giggled lightly, warming the Guardians' hearts that were watching the memory unfold.

 _"You haven't seem to mind before."_  He gave her a skeptical look before smirking wildly.  _"Oh, what's this? Concern for your little brother?"_

 _"HA! Concern you may lose your little following maybe!"_  The children started laughing with her, gaining an unamused, but still happy expression from Jack.

_"Alright, alright. I walked into that one."_

_"Walked? Jack, you flew!"_  She joked.  _"Do the adults know that the kids are with you?"_

_"Yes, and I promised to bring them all back. They trust me now."_

_"That's good. So, how do we start?"_  She looked at the children and Sarah immediately jumped up.

_"You start with, 'Once Upon a Time!'"_

_"Very good!"_  She chuckled with delight before turning to Jack.  _"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say she's your little sister?"_

 _"What gave it away?"_  Jack questioned with a roll of his eyes.

She didn't answer him, but merely shook her head with a knowing smile.  _"So, Once upon a time..."_  She started as she turned to face the five children.  _"...a year and a half ago, I was taking a walk at a rather nice pond, and it was winter, so I was wearing my favorite coat..."_  She turned to face Jack who smiled.

 _"...and I was upset because of mean bullies, and I saw someone I hadn't seen before. The moon was shining down on her and she was smiling at the geese that played around the water..."_  Jack turned to her and nodded his head.

 _"...I looked up and saw tears streaming down a boy's face. Feeling that there was something wrong, I went towards him and I asked him what was wrong..."_  She smirked at Jack as she crossed her arms, causing him to flush a little as he looked away.  _"...you have to be truthful, Jack."_

He nodded his head and let out a heavy sigh.  _"...I looked up at her, after she asked me that questioned and I instantly gave her a gentlemanly bow telling her that it isn't the concern of such a beautiful lady..."_

The children started snickering.  _"AWE! Jack has a GIRLFRIEND!"_  One of the children teased.

 _"I do not! She's like an older sister! Now, do you want to hear the story or not?"_  Jack smirked when the snickering instantly stopped.  _"Good...so, after I was finished saying that, I asked her what she was doing at the pond, and that I hadn't seen her before."_

 _"I told him that I was searching for inspiration for a new story and possibly some sketches..."_  Another smirk from Katherine as she elbowed Jack who flushed a little further.

_"...and I told her that she was all the inspiration she needed. I happened to have a carving block with me and my knife, so when we sat down, I started carving something for her, but I didn't know what I was making. So, I asked her what her name was..."_

_"...and I told him my name was Katherine, and that I had an older brother name Nicholas. His eyes went impossibly wide at my words, and for a moment I was confused. Then..."_

_"Then I asked her if her brother's last name was North."_

_"I told him it was, and I asked him how he knew that. He said he's been told stories, but you see...those stories hadn't been told in a very long time. Long before Jack was born, and I hadn't told anyone else about them. Instead, I had begun to tell different tales. I asked him how he knew, and he told me his Father told him. So, I asked him who his Father was, and he told me a very special secret I can't tell you."_

_"AWE! No FAIR!"_ The children whined.

_"I'm sorry. It's a very important secret. I never thought it possible, but it is a very good and special secret."_

_"Right, and as she told me some of the stories she HAD been telling, I had finally finished carving my gift to her, and when I gave it to her, she was amazed."_

_"I was. He carves almost as well as Santa!"_

_"Maybe Jack can be a new elf!"_ Sarah shouted.

Katherine snorted out a laugh, quickly covering her face as she glanced at Jack who raised a curious brow to his little sister. _"Oh really...I think he would prefer you. You're still so small."_

Sarah pouted with smiling eyes as she crossed her arms. _"Meanie."_

_"I love you, Sarah. You know that."_

_"I know...I love you too, Jack."_ She smiled up at him softly. _"Tell more of the story!"_

 _"Alright..."_ Jack chuckled. _"...anyway, I gave it to her, and I told her that since she was Mother Goose, I decided to carve out a goose."_

_"And it was so beautiful."_

_"And I forgot about whatever the bullies had said to me, and we've talked, visited, and been friends ever since."_

_"YAY!" The children cheered and clapped as they jumped up and down._

_"Alright, everyone...it's time I get you back. It's well past bed time."_

_"AWE! One more story!"_

_"I'm sorry, but no. I promised your parents. Come on."_

The memory blinked, and Jack was coming back from the village to meet up with Katherine once again. _"Quite the lively bunch aren't they, Jack?"_

 _"Oh, you have no idea."_ Jack chuckled as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

She shook her head with a slight smile. _"Jack, I've traveled with North and the Easter Bunny. They have the liveliness of a hundred children...EACH!"_

_"Heh, only a hundred?"_

_"It's the number I thought of, but perhaps you're right."_

_"How is North, by the way?"_ Jack asked as they started to walk around the pond.

_"He's good. He really did place that carved horse on his desk. When I asked about it, he said that he didn't carve it. I was a bit confused, and he noticed so he told me that a very special child carved it for him, and that when he got to the North Pole, one of the first things he did was clean off his desk and place the horse neatly on it. He admitted to crying a bit, because it had been a very long time since he received a gift from a child, and he was shocked as well as impressed at how well it was made. He said that other than being a Guardian, his friends and family, and his wonderful workshop...it was only comparable to the drawing I gave him, but that the drawing was still more important...I hope you're not mad about that..."_

_"I could never be mad about that. I'm flattered. I had made that so long ago...I don't think it's all that great..."_

_"It's wonderful, Jack."_ She told him as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

_"Thanks, Katherine. That means a lot. So, I...I have to ask...how's my Father?"_

_"Abundantly joyful and mischievous as always. He's giving dreams right now, actually. Look up?"_

Jack did as she asked and smiled brightly as he watched the golden tendrils move into the village that had blown out all their candles and doused all their hearths. _"It's beautiful as always. You know...I don't think I'll ever get tired of it."_

_"I can't blame you. He IS your Father after all. You know...when you first told me that...I almost punched you in the arm."_

_"Yeah, but then I brought you to meet my Mother, because you're my first friend."_

_"And then I saw what she could do...and after I told her what you told me...she confirmed that you were telling the truth, and then she told me her story. It took hours, but it was an amazing story."_ She giggled light as they continued to walk. _"I never thought Sandy could be such a hopeless romantic, but I could tell there was every shred of truth in her words, and despite how long he's been gone...she still loves him as if he were still there."_

_"Yeah..." Jack smiled. "OH! Hey, do you have one of your sketch books with you?"_

_"Always, you know that."_ She told him with a risen and curious brow.

_"May I borrow it real quick? I want to show you something I learned!"_

_"Okay..."_ She said as she took out a small sketchbook and piece of charcoal out of her bag.

 _"Thanks."_ He said as he took it from her, and started drawing.

 _"Wow! That's incredible! You drew a perfect goose!"_ She said once he was finished.

_"That's not all."_

_"It's not?"_ She questioned with a tilt of her head.

 _"No...watch."_ Jack smiled as set the sketch book on the ground and crouched down to it. He placed two fingers on the paper, breathed in deeply, and as he breathed out he lifted his fingers and the goose came flying out of the paper and flew around Katherine.

_"Wha-!? This is incredible!"_

Once the goose went back in the drawing, she was about to say more when Manny shined his moon beams on them, and from above the trees flew another familiar face, further shocking everyone viewing the memory. _"Oh! Hey Nightlight!"_ Jack shouted with pure delight as he waved up at the glowing boy.

Nightlight waved at him with a gentle smile as he landed next to Katherine. He then turned up to Manny, and the moon beam shined on Jack. _ **"Nightlight had the idea that we should have a race. My moon beams against you two. I've already spoken with your mother. She said as long as I had you back before dawn it was fine. What do you say, Jack Frost...you want to race?"**_

_"Oh you are so on!"_

The memory faded, putting them back in the hallway of doors, and they watched as the door changed into a slightly larger picture than the last, and it was the next doll, but on this one, Jack had an arm around a little girl that looked like his sister, and the other was around a little boy that looked like Jamie. "Devoted." North breathed out. "He was devoted to not only his family, but to the children as well."

"Are we not gonna talk about how the bloody show pony knows BOTH Katherine and Nightlight!?"

"Oh, but Bunny...we were told. We just didn't know."

"What do ya mean?"

"Do you remember that one Christmas party we had where Katherine made the cocoa instead?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, do you remember when she told us that she met a very interesting boy that loved the wind and was great at carving and drawing?"

"Oh my...wow...she was talkin' 'bout Jack!"

"Seems so." North gave a half smile. "Let's see next memory..." North walked to the next door and his eyes widened at what he saw.

"What is it, North?" Tooth questioned as she flew next to him.

"Well, there was one time not too long ago that someone tried to attack my sleigh...multiple times. It was finally after four snow globes that the attacks happened, but I don't know what happened...however...this date...is same year. It's Christmas 1994." North opened the door, and they were instantly in the air, and they watched as Jack was running furiously through the woods, and was followed by what seemed to be two other winter spirits and Emily.

_"Jack! What are you going to do?" Emily asked desperately._

_"One of MY spirits is trying to hurt Christmas! What do you THINK I'm gonna do, Emily?" Jack growled out with more fury than anyone knew he could possess before viewing his memories._

_"I KNOW what you're going to do! You've had to do it once before already, and it took everything you had! Do you realize the lecture I got from the General of Spring!?"_

_"You...got a lecture...from one of YOUR spirits?"_

_"She's more than that. She's family. She's like the concerned, loud, mischievous and patient aunt I never had. She's like you and doesn't call me Mother...and she cares for you."_

_"I know she does, but Emily...he's attacking North! I can't stand by and allow that to happen! What if he goes back to try and attack one of the other Guardians? You know how jealous he is of them."_

_"I know, but..."_

_"OH! My General! How good to see you on this fine fine night!"_ A man's voice called out from just above them.

_"Whittaker!" Jack spat._

_"Oh my...you know how I do enjoy you saying my name!"_

_"Yeah, sorry...not my type, and in case you've forgotten, I'm very taken."_

_"Ah yes...that Cupid bitch. I hear she's prepared to lay with any man. Seems it's true."_

_"Enough! Your attack on North stops now!"_

_"Why should you care!? They HATE you! They don't care about you! The Easter Bunny despises you, Tooth doesn't even know you, and North hit you with his sleigh! Oh, and Sandy!"_ Whittaker belted out a cruel and malicious laugh. _"SANDY...has probably done nothing but take pity on a scrawny spirit. He probably finds you irritating like all of the other spirits do. Tell me, how long do you think it'll be until he grows tired of you? I suspect not long, I mean...how could anyone love you? I'll give that for Cupid...she makes delusional look sexy."_

_"You can say whatever the hell you want about me, but DO NOT insult my wife!"_

"WIFE!?" Everyone but Sandy shouted.

"Ah...yeah..." Sandy started. "I may have forgotten to mention that. Jack and Cupid got married. Mother Nature did the ceremony, and I was there and very happy for him...however, I'm also starting to realize that my daughter in law is Cupid."

 _"Why not? Everyone knows just how completely smitten she is with you and you with her, but don't you ever wonder what she does when you're not there with her? She's invited you to her palace numerous times. Both to live and to just rest, but instead you refuse and go to wherever it is you call home. She must get lonely without her husband so...I tell you what...after I'm done with North, I'll go pay her a-"_  Jack immediately started a blizzard, and he gave Emily his staff, causing her eyes to go wide with panic.

_"JACK! DON'T!"_

_"I have to, Emily! He's trying to hurt North...A GUARDIAN and I WILL NOT allow him to go and hurt my wife!"_  Jack ran towards where Whittaker had descended during his rant and held a strong stance, ready to fight.  _"Whittaker Skayne, you have been forgiven for your crimes in the past, but they will no longer be forgiven! You have used your powers to kill, hurt, and to make others delusional from fever due to the storms you've caused ON YOUR OWN ACCORD, and NOW you have tried to harm or possibly kill a GUARDIAN! I took mercy on you fifty years ago when I saw you freezing in the cold with not even clothes on your own back, and I spoke with Mother Nature about making you a spirit, and she agreed. However, YOU ARE MY SPIRIT, and as MY spirit, I have the authority to strip you of your powers and return you to being mortal with no memory of the spirit world! You will fight me and you will lose, but today this all ends! I cannot stand by any longer!"_

_"Have it your way, My General."_

_"Oh, did someone say there would be a fight?"_  Cupid's voice sang from above.

 _"There is, but I was pretty sure only one on one..."_  Whittaker smirked.

 _"That's only sparring. I guess you haven't heard, but I've had to do this before, and I do so in any way I see fit! Love..."_  Jack turned a mischievous smirk to Cupid who flew down to his side wearing a red dress with long sleeves and a blue sash tied around her waist.  _"...Care to lend a hand?"_

 _"I would LOVE to!"_  She grinned wickedly.

_"Oh? And what are you gonna do without your staff, My General. Pretty stupid move giving it to Mother if you're going to fight me."_

_"I don't need it!"_  Jack growled out and looked behind him.  _"Snow Queen! Alba! Don't let him fly away, back me up, but do not attack! Just keep him here!"_

_"Yes, Jack!"_

_"Still not seeing how you don't need it!"_  Whittaker cackled and sent a knife flying towards Jack, but it was quickly deflected as Jack conjured an ice shield with lightning speed.  _"Wha-That's not possible!"_

 _"You're not me, so it's just not possible for you."_  He made the shield melt, and quickly conjured a bow while Cupid brought her's out.

She tapped the top of where her arrows were held and they changed in variety.  _"Oh, and Whittaker...if you think I would let you lay with me, you are SORELY mistaken. Also, the only man I have EVER lain with was Jack! I put up a good mask, but it's the truth!"_

"You know...I had my suspicions...I'm going to be honest. That doesn't mean I want to know. Well, at least he's happy." Sandy shrugged as he watched the memory continue.

_"Oh? And how are you going to shoot me without arrows, My General?"_

Jack conjured an arrow made of ice and pulled it back on the bow.  _"Like this, and you know...I don't wanna brag, but the one who trained me...I have it on good authority that I'm a pretty damn good shot!"_

 _"We'll see about that!"_  Whittaker shouted as he forced the blizzard to get worse.

Jack then quickly turned to Cupid and gave her a passionate yet quick kiss that left her blushing furiously with a wide smile.  _"That should keep you warm."_  He told her in a serious tone as he turned to face Whittaker.

 _"I should say so!"_  She laughed and immediately started firing at Whittaker.

Jack started firing as well and although Whittaker had dodged their attacks for a while he couldn't do it forever, and he soon fell from the sky and to the ground as both Jack's and Cupid's arrows pierced his shoulders. They all rushed towards him, and heard him groan in pain.  _"You...ARE a good shot...I'll...give...you that."_  Whittaker chuckled hoarsely.

 _"Whittaker Skayne, you will be stripped of your powers, immortality, and knowledge of the spirit world."_  Jack stepped forward and placed a two fingers in the middle of Whittaker's chest and then two fingers on his forehead. Then, Jack started to glow with a blinding light, and they all watched as Whittaker lost any and all appearance of being a winter spirit. Once Jack was done, he stood up and shook his head slowly, but then he stopped shaking his head.

 _"Jack?"_  Cupid carefully called, but then he collapsed into the snow onto his back.  _"JACK!"_  She shouted and knelt down at his side.  _"Jack? Stay with me!"_

 _"I'm with you."_  He groaned.  _"Oh...this is gonna hurt all over tomorrow."_

 _"YOU IDIOT!"_  Cupid screamed.  _"That almost KILLED you last time!"_

_"Yeah well...what's a fight without a little bravery."_

_"And foolishness apparently. C'mon..."_  She trailed off as she easily lifted him into her arms.  _"...I'm taking you home."_

_"To...to Sandy?"_

_"No. I'm taking you to my home. I know Sandy is your home, but do you honestly want him to see you like this?"_

_"No...you're right."_

_"I usually am."_  She chuckled and flew off.

The memory faded and they were out in the corridor of doors once again, watching as the door changed into another slightly larger doll. "Brave." North chuckled. "Now I know why the attacks ended. However, I have to wonder...as always...but...why did he not use archery in battle with Pitch?" North turned to Kozmotis who now wore a guilty expression.

"Well..." Kozmotis rubbed the back of his neck. "...he couldn't."

"What do ya mean he couldn't?" Bunny asked, his ears going slightly flat against the back of his head.

"What I mean is...he has soul magic and his arrows are conjured with ice AND soul magic. If he had pierced me with one of the arrows, the darkness would've felt it and everything he is, and would've used that against him...and then they would've been made aware that he had spent time with me and not Pitch Black and they would've used that as well. So, he couldn't."

"Ah...that makes sense." North nodded his head before looking at the next one. The date caused him to let out a heavy sigh. "Belly is never wrong...this is bad memory for me. This was after you died Sandy. We had helped Bunny with eggs, but the nightmares...anyway...you saw what happened before when Jack was with Pitch...we...did not know that happened...this is how we reacted..." North opened the door slowly, and they were immediately brought to the lush green forest that the Easter egg hunt was being held, and Jack had just flown back right as Bunny had been walked through.

 _"Jack! Where were you?"_ North asked, and Jack immediately turned around with guilt written all over his face. _"The nightmares...attacked the tunnels. They smashed every egg...crushed every basket. Nothing made it to the surface!"_

 _"Jack!"_ Tooth immediately flew over towards them, then noticed the canister in his hand. She gasped aloud and looked at Jack. _"Where did you get that?"_

 _"I was...it's..."_ Jack tried to explain, but nothing would come out.  _'Words! Dammit! Words!'_

 _"Where's Baby Tooth?"_ She asked frantically. Then, she noticed that the fairy that had been so glued to Jack since he saved her was not even answering to her new name, and she immediately looked to Jack with a horrified look.  _"Oh, Jack...what have you done!?"_ She questioned as she backed away from him with a look of pure heartbreak and disbelief.

 _"That is why you weren't here? You were with PITCH!?"_ North shouted accusingly.

 _'I swear! It's not what you think!'_ Jack thought desperately.  _"No! Listen listen..."_ He let out a heavy breath. _"I'm sorry!"_ He stated desperately. _"I didn't mean for this to happen!"_

 _"He has to go."_ Bunny said from behind him.

 _"What?"_ Jack asked as worry filled his eyes. _'Please, no...let me explain!'_

 _"WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE TRUSTED YOU!"_ Bunny rose a paw at Jack in the form of a fist, seemingly ready to hit him, and Jack was sure that he might.  _'NO! Not again! Don't hit me again! I know you have good in you! I've seen it!'_ Jack's eyes widened even further as Bunny lowered his fist and let out a heavy sigh. _"Easter is...New beginnings...new life. Easter is about Hope! And now it's gone."_ Bunny sighed once more as he walked away from Jack with a disappointed look. Jack turned around to North and Tooth, eyes begging for them to listen, but they turned away from him looking ashamed. Jack pulled out North's center from his pocket and looked at it. _'And here I thought...I may have actually gained a family.'_  He tossed the doll to the ground and flew away, but his thoughts continued.  _'Emily is family and so is the General of Spring...and I love Cupid...but it was supposed to be different! I don't know how, but it was! I had thought...these were Sandy's friends, and I was finally needed for more than my powers but...for something else...but they're just like everyone else! If something bad happens I'm to blame! I am NEVER allowed to explain! I'm just a nuisance...Pitch was right...no one will ever believe in me...the Guardians will never accept me as anything more than a nuisance...and with Sandy gone...they won't ever accept me. All I have left...is good, but...I've lost everything it seems...even though I know that's not true...how is that possible!? I still have Cupid and I have Emily and the General of Spring...but...It doesn't matter anymore. I'm going to go to Antarctica and throw this stupid thing into the ocean where it'll sink and be beyond the point of rescue! I don't need my memories! They've caused me nothing but PAIN! Dammit...I'm just so alone without Sandy...'_

The memory faded and North couldn't bring himself to look at Sandy as he kept his gaze focused on the door that turned into a sad Jack holding his staff tightly like a teddy bear. "L-Lonely..." He croaked out, turning his head away from everyone as tears slowly slid down his face. "I...I had never...I abandoned him...I...the same little boy that...that gave me th-the horse that...that sits on my desk...and...even thought I hadn't known...I...he was still good. He...through ALL o-of his hardship...had somehow been good...and I...I a-abandoned him."

"North, look at me." Sandy requested calmly.

"I-I can't. What I did to Jack...your son...I..."

"North, please." When North turned to finally face Sandy, he was surprised to see a calming smile rather than anger or resentment. "Good. Now, that memory? I'm almost certain that Jack has forgiven you. He smiled up at you with relief, joy, excitement, and a look of belonging. At the very least...I forgive you."

North's eyes widened for a moment as he slowly nodded. "Thank you, Sandy."

"You're welcome. Now, come on...let's see the other memory. There's one left."

"Right...but...what else could there be?"

"You'll just have to open the door and find out." Kozmotis interjected with a small smile.

"Right..." North nodded his head and opened the door.

The memory appeared in an alley and Jack had just thrown a snowball at Pitch with a mischievous look in his eyes. He turned to Jamie and smirked.  _"Now let's go get your friends!"_

"I can't tell you how much I enjoyed Pitch getting hit with a snowball from the Little Prince." Kozmotis chuckled lightly and as the memory continued with Jack gaining more believers, he allowed his gaze to slide towards Tooth who was smiling at him, causing him to blush slightly, but he returned the smile.

"I was so proud of Jack for getting his believers. The sled ride was fun too!"

"Oh, I'm sure it was." He hummed with a hint of pride in his voice. "I am truly sorry about your believ-" Before he could finish he felt a warm peck on his cheek that made his insides feel like they were on fire starting from his cheek. He looked at her, shocked, not noticing the look of 'FINALLY' on Sandy's face. "I...I..." He stuttered out as he held a hand up to his cheek.

"I said it's not your fault." She blushed. "You've proven that you and Pitch are two completely different people."

"I-I kn-know but I-" He was once again cut off, but this time, Tooth pressed her lips against his and wrapped her arms around him. He couldn't help the slight moan that escaped him as she slid her tongue across his lips, causing him to instinctively place his hands on her hips as he allowed her tongue to enter his mouth, nearly making his legs collapse beneath him.

The kiss ended too soon for either of their liking. "I said it's not your fault. Do you understand?" She questioned with a confident and proud smile accompanied by a flushed face.

"Um...yes. I...I understand perfectly...but um...it may take some convincing."

"It's about damn time." Sandy muttered, but he allowed the memory to continue. It was just after Bunny said they would protect the children.

_"Oh! You'll protect them! But who will protect you!?"_

"We kissed for that long?" Tooth asked.

"I enjoyed it." Kozmotis grinned with a blush making its permanent home on his face.

 _"I will!"_  Jamie stated proudly, and he was followed by his other friends.

The Nightmare storm behind him raged as the children stood in front of the Guardians.  _"Still think there's no such thing as the Boogeyman?"_

As the Nightmare storm rolled towards them, Jamie stood tall and confident.  _"I do believe in you! I'm just not afraid of you!"_  He held out his hand, somehow turning the black sand into a warm and familiar gold sand, earning the surprise of everyone there, including Pitch.

 _'F-Father!?'_  Jack squeaked joyfully in his mind as he looked around at the sand in awe.

The memory blinked and Jack was turned facing the others looking for Pitch, unaware that he was actually behind him until Bunny let out a panicked,  _"JACK, LOOK OUT!"_  He turned around quickly enough to see the boomerang bounce off the scythe.

 _'No! He's not back yet! No! I-'_  His thought was interrupted as he saw a familiar golden whip wrap around Pitch's scythe, yanking him away.

Jack jumped up to see, and saw Sandy glaring at Pitch, shaking his finger at him.  _'Tsk tsk tsk...you never learn do you?'_  He then punched him, launching him into the air. Once he was pleased with the height, and after a hat tip to Jamie who recognized him immediately, he yanked on the dream sand whip, and allowed it to disappear as he celebrated with his friends.

The memory blinked once again, and it was right when Sandy saluted Jack. North turned to face Jack as the snowball fight continued.  _"Your center?"_  He asked with a hint of pride as he motioned towards the snowball fight.

 _"Well...it took a while..."_  He answered with carefree and mischievous eyes.  _"...but I figured it out."_  North chuckled warmly as he tossed something to Jack. When Jack opened his hand he saw that it was a small doll. His center. Joy and Fun. He looked up at North and smiled at him, and quickly noticed the knowing glint in North's eyes as North sent him a knowing wink.

The memory faded, and everyone looked eagerly to the door, and noticed that not one, but two dolls were on the door. "The smaller one is rebellious and carefree...the large one is Mischievous." North grinned joyfully. Then, they all watched in awe as the dolls came off of the doors, and stacked themselves. Once the last layer was stacked, in a flash of white, they were in the hallway that led to the other paths once again.

Before anyone could say anything, they're surroundings somehow gained more color and life. There were also snowballs formed everywhere on the ground where there was snow, and the ice seemed to glow a bit brighter underneath the moon. "Well...this is something." Kozmotis breathed out in awe at the new life of brighter and fuller colors that they somehow missed before.

"It's his wonder and magic." North stated with a proud smile.

"Apparently." Sandy chuckled warmly. "A-And...he called me Father...again."

"You may have to get used to that, mate. If we get to him time, you really are gonna have to get used to it." Bunny patted Sandy's back and gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I...I don't know...I mean...over three hundred years, Bunny. It'll probably take a while, and I mean...this is how I'm reacting hearing him say it in his mind. How am I going to react when he says it to me in person? IF he says it to me in person."

"You'll just have to find out." Kozmotis grinned.

Sandy turned around and gave his brother a smirk of his own. "Yes, just like you seemed to finally admit that you have feelings for Tooth, and that she feels the same. Seriously! The two of you hadn't stopped making eyes at each other!"

"Yes, well...it may be short lived regardless. After this ends...I may very well still be in the hole."

"Are you Pitch or yourself in the hole right now?"

"It's a battle to be honest...but the darkness doesn't know it's a battle."

"Perhaps...we can help you after this." North suggested, causing Kozmotis to stare at him with his jaw dropped.

"You...you would do that?"

"For Kozmotis...not Pitch...but yes." North took in the look of shock on Kozmotis' face, and couldn't help but smile warmly at it. "You have proven to be trusted friend to Jack, and you are also his family. It would be cruel to not at least give you your own chance after you've given Jack so many."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome. Next, and final in memories is Tooth."

"I don't know what would be there other than memories since he was called to be a Guardian. I didn't meet him as a child, and hadn't run into him until he came to the North Pole."

"Well, then we will see memories and hear his thoughts of you since then, but also remember...his memories also revolved around thinking of us strongly." North explained, and she nodded her head as she led everyone down her path.


	11. Tooth's Path

Once they appeared in the hallway made for Tooth, they all noticed that there were no doors, but blue diamonds where the doors should be instead. "Oh, this is interesting. It's the blue diamond that's in the middle of the teeth canisters. Oh...and even more interesting...the date is March 3rd, 1863."

"Well, activate your door and let's see what memory you were thought about strongly in." Sandy suggested with an impatient smile.

"Right." She nodded her head, and gently placed her hand on the diamond, causing everything around them to disappear and appear like a kaleidoscope.

_"Alright, Snow Queen, would you mind causing a few snow storms in Europe? You know my favorite places."_

The Snow Queen smiled gently at him as she shook her head.  _"Of course not. Is there a specific amount of snow you want?"_

_"Hmm...not more than three feet of snow, alright?"_

_"You got it."_  She smiled, and in a flash of light blue light, she was gone.

 _"Alright...now that that's dealt with."_  Jack was about to fly off when he heard a squeak he's never heard before.  _"What was that?"_  The squeak sounded again and his eyes widened.  _"Whatever it is, it's in pain."_  He started walking towards the sound and saw that it was coming from just outside a child's room. He rushed towards it and looked down on the ground to see a small fairy.  _"You must be one of Tooth's fairies."_  Jack whispered out in shock and awe as he slowly bent down and picked her up.  _"You wanna tell me what happened?"_

She nodded her head, and motioned for Jack to lean his ear down to her, and when he did, she kissed the top of his ear, causing Jack to pull back and give a small smirk.  _"Can you understand me now?"_  She squeaked out, and to everyone's immense shock, Jack could.

"Wait...why didn't we hear him understand her before?" Bunny questioned with a slight tilt of his head.

"We weren't meant to know yet, considering this memory was here." Kozmotis stated simply.

_"Yes, I can actually. So, what happened?"_

The fairy smiled at him softly and looked to her wing.  _"My wing got damaged in mid flight. I was just flying around to get out of the palace for a bit and to see what new houses there were. Tooth allows us to do that every now and then."_

_"Alright, well, how did your wing get damaged? It looks pretty bad."_

_"Well...let's just say I'm a bit clumsy."_  She sighed and shook her head.  _"I was enjoying looking at everyone's teeth while they walked around and talked, but then I ran into something. When I landed...that's when my wing got hurt."_

 _"Well then you hurt your wing by crash landing, not mid flight."_  Jack joked.  _"Hey...I thought you could go through windows though. You know...to get the teeth."_

_"We have to consciously go through the window...otherwise...well...my wing is proof of what happened."_

_"Hmm...well...I can heal you up if you want."_

_"You know healing magic? But you're a winter spirit."_

_"I know a lot of things most winter spirits aren't supposed to know. Truth be told...I'm the General of Winter, but I wasn't always taught by Mother Nature."_ Jack quickly held her tightly, careful of her wing, as he flew towards his pond. Once he landed he got comfortable on a rock with a flat top, and set her down before pulling something out from underneath it.

_"What's that? And who trained you if not Mother Nature?"_

_"An old friend."_ Jack answered calmly. _"He could be a bit of a pain sometimes and training was always brutal. Sometimes it took weeks for him to be able to patch me up correctly, because of how much damage he did to me and his magic could only go so far...but...it was worth it and he always healed me when he could. There were days during my healing that he couldn't be there for certain reasons, but when he could, he was."_

_"Sounds like a good friend, but I take it you're not gonna tell me his name." She smirked as she watched him take out a small jar of something. Well, small to humans. It was just a little bigger than she was, and she also noticed another jar that had water in it._

_"No. I can't do that. I'm sorry. He's a good man though. He's like a doting uncle that wants to see me improve. Anyway, yeah...he taught me a bit of healing magic in case he couldn't be there to patch me up. I still haven't figured out how to do it on myself, but I can heal others. For now, I have to use the aide of the ointment he made for me to use with the magic. It um...I'm gonna combine it with some water so it's not as thick, but it will probably be annoying."_

_"That's fine. I trust you. By the way...I didn't ask you your name."_

_"My name is Jack Frost."_ He smiled at her as he mixed the ointment with the water.

_"Huh...and you're a winter spirit...how fitting for you."_

_"What about you?"_

_"What do you mean?"_ She squeaked out lightly with a tilt of her head.

_"Well, what's your name?"_

_"We uh...we don't have names."_

_"WHAT!?"_ Jack shouted, startling the fairy.

_"It's true, but it's okay. We're a part of Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairy army...and we're her army. However, we haven't had to fight in a while, so that's good, but yeah...we don't have names. We're a part of her. We're her mini copies...but others just call us mini fairies."_

_"What if I give you a name?"_

_"Well...I don't know. I have no idea what would happen."_

_"Well...would you like a name? If anything goes bad...you can always come back to me with the knowledge that I'll be there for you as a friend."_

_"But we only just met..."_ She blinked at him in shock.

_"Yeah, but I feel like we could be good friends. I usually have a good sense about these things. So...do you want a name?"_

_"Hmm...I may get in trouble for it...but I'm curious of what might happen. So, yes, I would like a name."_

_"Alright, it may not sound too special, but I can't really think of anything else so...what about 'Little Baby Tooth'?"_

As soon as he said it, she briefly started to glow violet and ice blue. Once the glow was gone, everyone gasped at her two different eye colors. _"Wow!" Jack breathed out._

_"I...I have a name! Did...um...did anything happen?"_

_"I'd say!"_ Jack conjured a small ice mirror and turned it to face Baby Tooth.

When she looked in the mirror she gasped, but smiled at the same time. _"I have two different eye colors and...the cold doesn't bother me as much! It's still cold...but it doesn't hurt and..."_ She fluttered her wings. _"My wings have changed a bit, and they're all better!"_

_"That's good. I wonder why your eye color changed, though."_

_"It's an ice blue like yours. It must be because you named me! Oh...I feel like there's a special bond between us now. It's like..."_

_"Like we're brother and sister in a way?"_

_"Yeah! So, you feel it too?"_ She flew up to his face with a delighted smile.

_"Yeah...I feel like I would be able to recognize you no matter what...even if I don't see your eyes."_

_"I know! I can sense that you'll be able to do that too! Oh! I sense a tooth! I uh...I have to go..."_

_Jack chuckled lightly as he nodded his head. "Go on. Go grab that Tooth...Little Baby Tooth."_ With a delighted squeal she flew away, and the memory ended.

Once they were back in Tooth's hallway they all looked at Tooth with wide and curious eyes. "Um...did you notice the change in eye color?" Sandy questioned.

Tooth nodded her head. "She said that a spirit gave her a name, and I have to admit, I was a bit peeved, but she was just so happy about it...my irritation lasted about five minutes. She told me how white his teeth were, and that his name was Jack Frost...that's how I knew his teeth sparkled like freshly fallen snow. She told me as such, and from then on, even I called her Baby Tooth."

"So...did you punish her or something?" Kozmotis asked with a contemplative expression as well as a concerned one.

"No. Like I said, I was only irritated for about five minutes. She was really worried I would be mad at her, but with how happy she was, I couldn't."

"Well, then why did you look so shocked when he gave her a name if you knew who did it?" Bunny questioned.

"Because I didn't know it happened like that. I thought he gave her a name on accident. She was talking faster than usual when trying to explain it to me, and I couldn't get her to slow down, but I did get most of it."

"Huh...well, let's go to the next memory." Bunny suggested as he pointed to the next door.

Without saying anything, Tooth pressed on the door and they were brought to the sleigh.  _"They're stealing the Tooth Fairies!"_  Jack shouted, and immediately started looking up.  _'Where are you Baby Tooth! You're up there but where! You haven't been captured, but...THERE!'_  He flew up out of the sleigh, grabbed for a fairy and quickly sat back down in the sleigh with a pounding heart.  _"You alright, Little Baby Tooth?"_

_"Yeah...I'll be fine. Thank you, Jack."_

The memory ended and they were back in the hallway. "Well, that was quick!" Tooth commented. "Oh, we haven't looked to see what's at the end of the hallway!" She looked behind her and noticed that there was a three piece puzzle of her. The wings were placed, but the last piece was her body, which meant there was one memory left.

"One left, Toothy." North smirked. "Let's see what it is."

"You have a feeling in your belly...don't you?"

"HA! You know me well, Tooth!"

Tooth moved to touch the last door, without looking at the date, and they were brought into Jamie's room. " _Left central incisor, knocked out in a freak sledding accident. I wonder how that could've happened, Jack."_ She shot Jack an amused and knowing look.

Jack was looking at the drawing that Jamie had done of him flying through the air on the sled, and he found himself laughing lightly at Tooth's words. _"Kids, huh?"_

Tooth twirled the coin down her fingers and carefully slid it underneath's Jamie's pillow while still holding the knowing look. _"Hmm..."_ She flew up to look at Jamie still asleep in his bed. _"This was always the part I like the most. Seeing the kids."_ Tooth crossed her arms and hugged herself tightly as she continued to look at Jamie. _"Why did I ever stop doing this?"_

_"Hmm...It's a little different up close, huh?"_

Tooth looked at Jack with an appreciative smile.  _"Thanks for being here, Jack. I wish I had known about your memory. I could've helped you."_

_"Yeah well...look, let's just get you taken care of, then it's Pitch's turn."_

The memory faded, and before they could look at the puzzle piece of Tooth, so did the hallway. They were suddenly brought out to where they had seen all of the different paths, and they waited for something to change. For a while, they thought nothing was going to happen, but then they all noticed as the paths started lifting up and spinning around so fast to where they were just a blur of color and light. Then, they exploded in a firework like fashion, and the rest of the area made itself as far as the eye could see on the pond other than the path to Jack and the path to dreams. However, it revealed enough to allow them to know that it was from Jack's mortal life if the houses in the village were anything to go by. "Alright...so...now we just have two more paths left." Tooth breathed out. "What can we expect on the path of dreams?"

"Around the same thing you experienced the first time." Kozmotis answered with a small smile. "However, it won't hold any memories. These will all be things he's dreamed of...and unfortunately there will be two separate paths."

"I'm gonna take a guess and say that one is for nightmares and the other for good dreams." Bunny inquired with a nervous twitch of his ear. His heart had already almost shattered to pieces when he had to watch Jack die, but he had to be strong for Sandy even though he nearly collapsed from the pain of it, and then there was the fact that his heart completely shattered when he had to re-watch the events of the Blizzard of '68. He didn't want to go down this particular path, because he didn't know how he was going to feel if he saw himself in a nightmare.

"Yes." Kozmotis answered remorsefully. "However, each path will be like the memory path, but it will already show the most important one. Where as we had to piece puzzles together in the memory path, we each have a gate in both the dream and memory paths and it won't take as long because there is only one...but we will see his WORST nightmare of us in his soul...and his purest happiest dream of us in the dream path. I suggest that we take the Nightmare path first so that we can go down the dream path and feel better after witnessing his worst nightmare of us."

"Sounds like a plan." Sandy sighed out. "Let's go."


	12. Worst Nightmares

They all walked down the golden path, and watched as two more paths appeared while keeping them at the pond. "So, I'm no expert on any of this, but I'm gonna guess the large eerie black gate resembling the black gate from the golden age is where his nightmares are gonna be held." Bunny let out a heavy expectant sigh.

"Nothing gets past you. Does it, Aster?"

"I must ask something." North shook his head. "Kozmotis, why do you call him Aster?"

"That's his name." Kozmotis rolled his eyes. "Besides, Pitch called him Rabbit or Bunny as well. More so Rabbit, but still...I figure...at least for certain people I would say different names. You and Tooth are fine, because I haven't wronged you as much as I have wronged Aster and Sanderson."

"And Jack?" Tooth questioned with narrowed eyes.

"I could never hurt him...but it felt like I always had...and besides, you already know why I call him Little Prince. I personally have not wronged him, but Pitch has...a great deal. Anyway, we should go through the gate. It'll be a quick trip, but it'll be extremely painful, I'm sure." Kozmotis placed a hand on the gate, and their surroundings changed in the blink of an eye to a similar area that they had started with in the hall of memories. It even had the same paths and names, but this time, the arches that led to the paths were black, and the names were painted black. "Seems we're all here."

"Yes, even Elizabeth." Sandy mentioned with a tilt of his head. "Why is her path here too?"

"Because, to Little Prince, she's as important as we are, and has to be included. She's as much a part of his soul as we are. The paths with the names are family members. So, everyone that's here...is who he considers to be family members."

"Right...I guess...we should go down Elizabeth's path first." Sandy stated solemnly as he started to walk down Elizabeth's path with the others following behind him.

_Soon, their surroundings morphed immediately with nightmare sand surrounding them. Once the sand settled, it revealed Jack starting to become surrounded by a lot of older kids, and he seemed to be around eight or nine. "M-Mother!" He cried out._

_"HA!" A boys face laughed out cruelly. "Your mother's not here to save you, you monster!"_

_"I'm not a monster! I'm just different!"_

_"Yeah, we know!" An older man's voice cackled wickedly. "You're different, and we don't have room for freaks like you! We don't have room for monsters! You're a danger to everyone! You're even a danger to your mother!"_

_"YEAH!" A teenage girl's voice shouted. "I mean...you did use your magic to cause a tornado in your own home!"_

_"I-I don't even know how to do that! You're lying! MOTHER!"_

_"I'm right here, Jackson." Elizabeth's voice called and the people surrounding Jack disappeared while she slowly appeared._

_"M-Mother!" Jack shouted as he rushed to wrap his arms around her, but she faded away in a puff of smoke just before reappearing behind him._

_"Why did you do it?"_

_"D-Do what?"_

_"Why did you hurt me?"_

_"I-I wouldn't! I never did! This...!" Jack frantically looked around him and then at his mother. "This is a Nightmare." He stated calmly._

_"This is no Nightmare, Jack! This is real! You hurt me! You used your powers against me! You're a monster!"_

_Jack's eyes started to glow brightly with an intense gold that was only comparable to Sandy's dream sand as his breathing became heavy and furious. "MY MOTHER WOULD NEVER CALL ME A MONSTER!"_

_"You're right! I wouldn't have! That was until you used your powers against me!" She shouted and started to crowd Jack, but he stood firm._

_"You. Are. Not. My. Mother!" Jack lifted his hand and his whole body started to glow before the Nightmare erupted into a beautiful golden light._

Once the light got to bright for them to see, they found themselves back in the hallway looking at the other paths. "Well...that was certainly interesting, but I'm afraid...they might not all be like that. There are some Nightmares you can't wake yourself up from." Kozmotis stated as he evened his breathing, because he felt Pitch's influence in the Nightmare, and he didn't want to even begin to contemplate what that could possibly mean for the Little Prince.

"That was his worst Nightmare about Elizabeth?" Sandy questioned rhetorically. "Well, that's not bad so far. He got himself out of it."

"True, but he was a child then. The rest...are after he's become a spirit, and unfortunately we won't know exact dates with these. We'll just see what his Nightmares were about us. So..." Kozmotis took a deep breath as he headed towards his path. "...let's get mine over with." He looked up at his name and staggered back a bit. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Oh-ho! This is too rich!" A cruel twisted perversion of Kozmotis' voice cackled wickedly as he stood atop the sign that read Kozmotis.

"HOW ARE YOU HERE!?" Kozmotis growled as he took out his scythe, hearing the Guardians take out their own weapons.

"Well, you see, it's rather interesting. We sensed something akin to humanity in you, so we went from control of your body to just taking a peek inside your soul and mind, and wouldn't you know it, there is pure humanity, and it was Dream Walking. Well, what did we do? We decided to take a trip, and what we found was quite entertaining and somewhat of a revelation. Oh, and Guardians? You may want to put those away. There are only two people in here that have the power to destroy me, and I have no intention of letting them. Although, I will say this, once I appeared, I didn't appear where you were at first."

"Where did you appear!?" North shouted as his grip tightened on his sabers.

"Oh, I saw Jack! And my oh my! He is SUFFERING BEAUTIFULLY! He looks a bit different, but perhaps that's because he's fighting with the Nightmare King side of him."

"Nightmare...KING?" Kozmotis questioned.

"Oh yes! He went WAY past Prince and went straight towards KING!" Pitch laughed with wicked delight. "Oh! And what a BEAUTIFUL Nightmare King! So wicked! So cruel! He's done things to Jack that I could never imagine! Oh! It was wonderful to watch, but alas...my curiosity HAD to be sated, so I left the wonderful torture session to come find you, and what do I find? Acceptance, bonds, love, friendship, and...FAMILY! Jack is your NEPHEW! Oh, this is marvelous!"

"He's been fightin', ya bastard!" Bunny shouted as he felt his fury nearly boil over.

"Yes..." Pitch hummed with pure delight. "...he has, hasn't he? Oh, all of you haven't seen what I've seen! He really and truly is fighting, and like I've said, he's fighting the Nightmare King side of him, but he's fighting so much more than that."

"What is it then, if it's making a sadistic fuck like you so damn giddy!?" Kozmotis growled low, ignoring the gasps from those behind him, knowing it was likely due to his language, but he didn't care.

"My, my! I haven't heard you speak like that since I fought with you inside YOUR soul! You do know how much I LOVE it when you talk like that! Go on! Say more!"

"Answer the damn question!" Sandy shouted, whips at the ready and patience wearing thinner than the ice he watched his son fall through.

"OH! Sandy! Such a shame I couldn't take over your soul all those years ago. You would've been twice as powerful as a Nightmare King than Kozmotis! Oh, your soul was delectable before I was expelled from it. However, Jack will be TEN times as strong as both of you put together. So much regret, heartache, fear, and pain! Very well...he's fighting all of you! He's fighting your opposites."

"Our opposites?" Tooth questioned carefully.

"Yes you over sized hummingbird! They have your shape, your voice, and even your mannerisms...however, they represent the exact opposite of what you are, and they are torturing him with it! Oh! You see, such a thing hadn't happened with Sandy or Kozmotis, but it's happening to him, and it's one of the many reasons that he'll be a MARVELOUS Nightmare King! Now, in case you were wondering...For North who defends Wonder and Magic, he is facing disinterest and disregard...the antonyms of Wonder." He cracked a cruel smirk when he saw how North staggered back slight, and he continued. "For Sandy, the protector of Dreams, and the one who is APPARENTLY his Father, he is facing Nightmares and abandonment. For Bunny, well, it doesn't take much after what you did to him '68 and at Easter, but he's facing hopelessness, distrust, despair, and lots of FEAR! For Tooth he's facing ignorance, and his amnesia is SLOWLY coming back to him. However, it's only giving him amnesia for the good things he's experienced. The Fearlings, Nightmares, and darkness will give him every single bad experience since he was born! Oh, and YOU Kozmotis...the once great Lord High General of the Galaxies...the king of the universe...he is facing ME! However, he is experiencing me in my purest form!"

"NO!" Kozmotis shouted.

"Wait, what does he mean?" Bunny questioned desperately.

"The darkness has five pure forms..." Kozmotis started.

"Yes!" Pitch purred. "From least powerful to the most powerful I can appear as a snake, a dragon, an arachnid of any kind, I can also appear as the person that's being affected by me which he's already facing, but he's ALSO facing the purest form of me. The form of someone he loved and trusted with all his heart, and surprisingly that's not his Mother. It's Sandy here. He's facing me...disguised as Sandy AND himself as a Nightmare KING! TWO OF MY FORMS! Oh, and the irony of him facing Sandy...the irony is pure, beautiful, and delicious! You might as well leave, because once you get to Jack, he's not going to recognize any of you, and if he does, he'll likely attack ALL of you. Actually, on second thought, go through as quickly as possible. Now, I'm gonna go back and watch the show called, 'Jack's Torture'. Farewell." Pitch drifted into the shadows with a cruel chuckle echoing around them until it finally drifted off into nothing.

"Wait...how is facing him disguised as Sandy facing your opposite, Kozmotis?" North questioned as he tried to calm down from everything they were just told.

"Because, Sanderson and I...when we lived at the palace together, we were already as different as Night and Day, but we needed the other just as much as well. You wouldn't believe it either."

"No, you really wouldn't." Sandy sighed out. "I loved the night sky, the darkness, the shadows created by the moon hitting the trees in the forest, I actually loved darkness. It was peaceful, quiet, and in it I could use my dream sand as a brilliant light, causing more beautiful shadows. Night time was my favorite time...just like now. It's my favorite time because everyone's asleep, and there's no chattering to distract from the sound the wind makes through the trees in the dark of the night."

"Truly? That's what you were like?" Bunny gawked at him in disbelief.

Sandy shrugged innocently. "I'm still like that."

"Yes, and I loved daylight. I loved the crowds, the people, the chattering...I loved the sunshine, I loved the light it would bring, I loved the warmth it would give off, I loved the light coming through the trees, I loved seeing how everything was seemingly brought to life during day...but you see...that's why Sanderson would've made a better Nightmare King than me...he was already connected strongly with the darkness. So...to face my opposite...is to face Sanderson...and the fact that Sanderson is Little Prince's most loved and trusted one...it makes it that much more dangerous."

"Well, could you please explain how you two needed each other like the Night needs the Day? I don't quite understand." Tooth requested, fiddling with her hands in a saddened manner.

"Night cannot exist without Day." Sandy explained with a proud and kind smile.

"And Day cannot exist without Night." Kozmotis stated as he wrapped an arm around Sandy. "We were inseparable. When one of us would cry the other would be there without a moments hesitation. When one would be hungry the other was quick to give up food for the other. When wounded the other would heal. The list goes on and on really. Our parents had never seen anything like it, but they were happy we had that."

"Koz...?" Sandy breathed out as he looked at his brother.

"I know...you're right. We need to hurry."

"Who's next?" Sandy questioned as he looked to the paths.

"It doesn't really matter. We just have to pick a path and walk down...but I would rather be the one to go next just to get it over with."

"Alright." Sandy nodded and headed down Kozmotis' path, causing their surroundings to change once again like the last one did.

_They were brought to a large clearing of green grass, the moon wasn't out, but because of the lack of buildings, the stars gave off plenty of light. "Kozzy?" Jack asked with pure white hair gently blowing in the breeze._

_"I'm right here." The voice said, but it didn't exactly sound like Kozmotis. Jack turned around to face him, and gasped in shock at what he saw. "Is something wrong?"_

_"N-No...um...Kozzy...what's my name?"_

_"Well, shouldn't you know?" He chuckled in the same manner Pitch always had._

_"I do, just...say my name...or is it...you don't know who I am."_

_"Of course I know who you are! You're Jack Frost!"_

"This memory has no trace of Pitch, but obviously it was still a Nightmare." Kozmotis stated quickly as the Nightmare continued.

_"You're not Kozzy!"_

_"Why, of course I am! Don't you recognize me?"_

_"NO! YOU'RE NOT HIM!" Jack shouted and the entire ground froze harshly with ice at his screams. "HE WOULD NEVER CALL ME JACK!" Jack held out a hand and conjured his own ice scythe causing everyone but Kozmotis to gasp in complete shock. Jack started to expertly swing it with as much fluidity and ease that he used his staff with. He swung it at the impostor as if it weighed nothing at all._

_"I. AM. HIM!" The impostor shouted, but then it conjured shadows to come up from beneath Jack's frosted ground, turning them into many thin, but extremely sharp points. "I...!" A shadow spike plunged into Jack's stomach. "AM...!" Another one into his left thigh. "Kozmotis...!" One final one plunged deeply into Jack's chest, causing Jack to cough up blood. "Pitchiner!" The voice shouted cruelly._

_"You..." Jack breathed in and out as steadily as he could. "...are...nothing...like him!"_

_"Still alive then?" The impostor came forward and waved a hand at Jack's wounds, healing them all. "Guess I'll have to try again...Little Prince."_

_"Wh-What?"_

_"Little Prince, are you alright?" The impostor tilted his head, putting on what looked to be a genuine expression._

_"I...Kozzy...you're back!" Jack moved to hug him, but was quickly forced into the air on a giant spire of shadow, impaling Jack's core. Once the spire came down, so did Jack, both were covered in a never ending layer of blood._

_"Who am I, Jack Frost?"_

_"Pitch Black!" He spat._

_"No, I am Kozmotis Pitchiner, and I have grown weary of you. You are a menace, a monster, you'll never grow into your powers, I'm wasting my time with you, so I'm going to liberate anyone else who may waste their time with you. You're a waste of space and must be taken care of! I am your precious Kozzy, but you no longer deserve the title Little Prince!"_

_"W-Wait! D-Don't! I can be better!"_

_"How!?" The impostor shouted with a defiant laugh. "You're winter! You are death, cold, winter, and you are nothing more than an unwanted spirit! Even the Sandman will get tired of you! That worthless, spineless, brainless...why...I may go pay him a visit and...!"_

_In the blink of an eye, Jack was off the spire, healed, and he swung his scythe into the impostor's heart. "Don't you EVER talk about my Father that way!"_

_"Y-Your F-Father?" The impostor asked with a cruel smirk as blood started dripping from his mouth. "Surely not."_

_"He's the closest thing to a Father I have, and I will get rid of ANYONE who speaks ill of him like you tried to or tries to harm him! I will ALWAYS defend my family!"_

The Nightmare ended abruptly and they were once again in front of the paths. "Jack is strong." North hummed as he looked up at his path. "He has ALWAYS been so strong...when he should not have needed to be so strong." Without saying another word, North walked down his path.

_Once the Nightmare settled itself, they were brought to the North Pole. "Alright! I finally got in without the yeti catching me!" Jack cheered, but then he heard someone clear their throat. "O-Oh...Hi North." Jack stuttered out after he turned around to see who it was._

_"What are you doing here?"_

_"I was just...I wanted to see the workshop...I...I've never been inside the workshop..."_

_"AND YOU SHOULD NOT BE HERE!"_

_"Wh-What? Why?"_

_"You are troublesome! You are nothing but mischief, pranks, trouble, and you make mess everywhere! I do not need that in my workshop!"_

_"Wait, just...give me a moment! I..."_

_North took out his sabers and pointed one at Jack. "Leave Jack Frost!"_

_"N-Not until you hear me out first! I...there was something I wanted to talk with you about!"_

_"I have no business with the likes of you, and I never will! You are nothing to me!"_

_"I-I know I'm nothing, but I...I wanted to..."_

_"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU WANTED!" North shouted as he used his saber to stab Jack in the shoulder, causing the North viewing the Nightmare to let out a pained sob as he fell to his knees._

"Jack...no...I would never...I could never..." The tears falling from North's eyes were clouding his vision, but he could still hear the Nightmare version of him shout at Jack, causing his heart to ache even further.

_"YOU ARE UNWANTED! UNNEEDED! TROUBLE!"_

_"N-North..." Jack croaked out as he held onto his shoulder. "I wanted t-to h-help...I...I wanted to see the workshop..."_

_"Why would I let a thing like you help me! I am a Guardian! You are nothing! YETI! Take him away!"_

The Nightmare ended, and North was still on the floor, his whole body shaking. "I...I could never d-do that to him...b-but...a-at Easter...I-I abandoned him...I..."

Kozmotis got on his knees next to North and placed an arm over the larger man's shoulders. "North...this is but a Nightmare. It was his WORST Nightmare of you. It's not real. It may have happened in the Nightmare world, but I am positive he doesn't feel this way anymore. I'm sure you and the others have proven that you don't wish to harm him. You'll be there for him after this, right?"

North looked at Kozmotis with grateful eyes and nodded his head. "Yes, but...this Nightmare should never have happened." He stated as he began to dry his tears.

"Perhaps not, but it DID happen. Past tense. Little Prince wouldn't hold onto a Nightmare. That was not a memory. He knows that."

North nodded his head, and quickly wiped away the still approaching tears as he got back on his feet with the help of Kozmotis and Bunny. "Thank you. Let's hurry. We still have to see his dreams after this, and then we can get to him. We must hurry before we are too late."

"Then let's go down mine." Bunny stated as he ran on all fours towards his path, causing everything to shift once again.

_Once the Nightmare sand drifted away, they found themselves in a forest, and although there were no children and it was the middle of the night, Jack was still in a tree, beaming as he watched Bunny hide eggs. "Hey! Bunny!" Jack shouted as he conjured a snowball._

_"What is it, Frostbite?" Bunny smirked as he looked up at the tree._

_"Catch!" He shouted as he flew down from his tree, and threw the snowball at him._

_It hit its mark perfectly as Bunny had to wipe the snow off of his muzzle. "Ha Ha, very funny, Frostbite."_

_"Well, I thought so." Jack chuckled lightly as he stepped closer to Bunny. "So, how's Easter going for you? It's the middle of the night, why are you hiding them?"_

_"Because, I wanted to make for certain that the little tykes would find them, and that they would see them by morning."_

_"But don't they have legs? Can't they walk out of wherever you make them from?"_

_"They can, but not this Easter."_

_"Well, do you wanna take a break and have a quick snowball fight?"_

_"As long as your snow doesn't come down over here, sure! I wouldn't mind."_

"How is this a Nightmare?" Bunny questioned as he held a paw to his chest. 'This is what it should've been like!' He thought to himself with pure regret making its way into his heart and causing a hard lump to form in his throat. 'We should've been friends like this! Just calmly talkin' to one another as if it were as easy as breathin'! I'm a damn fool!'

"Give it a moment. This is definitely going to turn into a Nightmare." Kozmotis replied with a remorseful expression.

_"Would you look at this!" Pitch's voice rang loud and clear as he appeared in the same tree that Jack was sitting in._

_"What do you want!?" Bunny growled, placing a protective paw in front of Jack. "And why do your clothes look...why are you dressed like the General?"_

_Pitch looked down at his clothes and gave an evil grin to Jack and Bunny. "Oh, well, I thought a change of wardrobe was in order. The more to taunt you with, dear Bunny. However, I'm actually here for Jack."_

_"You're as mad as a hatter if ya think I'm just gonna hand over my brother to ya!"_

_"BROTHER!?" Pitch laughed out with widened eyes. "OH! This is too much! Bunny, have you seen yourself? Have you seen him? I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a distinct lack of fur, muscle, ears, and height!"_

_"He may not be blood, but he's family!"_

"Th-This is what Jack thought of me?" Bunny questioned aloud as he felt the rushing waters of guilt, regret, pain, and curiosity go through his body, nearly taking him down to the ground.

"Yes." Kozmotis confirmed. "He had always wanted to be your friend. He had wanted to be like a brother to you."

_"Family, you say!? Well, then I suppose you've picked incorrectly considering..."_

_"Considering what!?" He growled low in an almost feral tone._

_"Considering I've been training him. Now, come on Jack. Time for more lessons."_

_"Wh-What!?" Bunny stood upright and faced Jack with pure hurt in his eyes. "T-Tell me i-it isn't true!"_

_"Oh it's true! Go ahead, Bunny. Take in his scent. We train often enough, mine should be there."_

_Bunny looked hesitantly between Pitch and Jack, but did as he was asked anyway, and he seemed to find what Pitch meant, because he jumped back about three feet. "N-No...JACK! HOW COULD YOU!?"_

_"I...it...he's different! It's not the same! L-Let me explain!"_

_"No need!" Bunny brought out his claws and started growling at Jack. "YOU TRAITOR! YOU LIAR! YOU INGRATE! YOU MONSTER!" With every shout Bunny clawed deeper and deeper into Jack's skin, staining his fur a hellish red._

_"B-Bunny..." Jack wheezed. "P-Please...l-let me..."_

_"I SHOULD NEVER HAVE TRUSTED YOU!" Bunny shouted and went to make one final slash, but the Nightmare ended._

Once they were back at the beginning of the paths, Bunny was motionless as tears streamed down his fur. "I...what I said at E-Easter...it was a N-Nightmare m-made a reality..."

"Yes, it was, but I'm sure he's forgiven you." Kozmotis breathed out. "Little Prince doesn't hold grudges. He never has...even when he really should've."

"There's gonna be an endless stream of apologies...I just know it." Bunny groaned, trying to allow himself to believe...to hope...that Jack forgave him.

"Yes, but we'll just have to wait till then." Sandy mentioned. "Let's go down mine...I'm not sure what we'll find...but I'm almost certain it's going to hurt...and I would like to get that out of the way now." He then walked down his path, and allowed the nightmare sand to flow freely around all of them.

_Once it was gone, they all noticed Jack sitting on Sandy's cloud. "Hey, Sandy?"_

_"Yes, Jack?" He asked as he delivered dreams to a town that wasn't visible in the Nightmare._

_"Why do you allow me to sit on your dream cloud?"_

_"Well, that's a ridiculous question." Sandy scoffed with a roll of his eyes, but there was absolutely no humor in his eyes. "Why do you think?"_

_"Because...we're friends?"_

_"WHAT!?" Sandy immediately turned around with a quizzical expression. "You really thought that!? Don't fool yourself, boy! I allow you on my dream cloud, because at least then someone's watching you, and keeping you from being a further menace than you already are. You're a winter spirit, Jack! You could never even dream to be able to fathom love, caring, kindness, or even gentle words. You know nothing of these things. You're a winter spirit. Your snow and ice kills and hurts people! Oh! And one more thing...!"_

_Jack stood up, causing the Nightmare Sandy to stop talking. "You. Are. Not. Sandy!" He growled with an even more feral and threatening tone than Bunny had in the last Nightmare._

_"Oh, and now you're delusional too! You're a danger to everyone!"_

_"No. I'm not, and Sandy would never say such hurtful things to me! He's like a Father to me! He would never be so cruel. You are nothing more than a Nightmare!"_

The Nightmare abruptly ended, and without even a transition, they were in front of the paths. "Well...that was less painful than I thought it would be." Sandy sighed out in relief. "The last one to go is Tooth."

"Yeah...but...how is that gonna work?" She asked as she looked up at her name, and her eyes widened. "Oh...Tooth...but in parenthesis...Baby Tooth. Okay, that makes sense." She walked down her path, and almost in the blink of an eye, they were in the air.

_Jack was laughing as he was flying, and Baby Tooth was following behind him. "C'mon Baby Tooth!" He laughed out joyously. "If you don't hurry up, I'm going to win!"_

_"I'm trying! It's snowing, Jack!" She squeaked out weakly._

_Jack immediately stopped and looked at Baby Tooth. "B-But I didn't make it snow!"_

_"Yes y-you did!" She squeaked out as she started holding her arms. "I'm so cold, Jack...help...why did you..."_

_Jack watched in pure horror as she started falling. He flew as fast as he could to catch her, but once he did, he saw that her eyes were closed, and she wasn't breathing. "Baby Tooth? Wake up...please..." Jack started crying and he shook his head. "I...I don't feel a connection with this storm! I swear! I didn't cause it! Please, Little Baby Tooth...wake up...breathe at least!"_

_"She's dead, Jack." A deep, ominous, yet somehow calming voice stated._

_Jack whipped his head around and a figure that seemed to be only a little older than Jack was wearing black dress pants, no shoes, and the only top clothing he had was a tattered ebony cloak that was open to reveal his chest while it was tied loosely at his neck. The hood was down, revealing azure eyes, ivory pale skin, and jet black hair. "M-Mortis!" He rushed towards the other spirit and held his hands out to him, holding Baby Tooth. "C'mon, Mortis...you and I have known each other forever! I've helped you and you've helped me...can you please?"_

_"I cannot. This was your doing, Jack Frost."_

_"B-But...she can't be..."_

_"But she is, old friend. However, you are right, we have been friends for a very long time, and you know that I am a lucid dreamer as well."_

_"L-Lucid...I-I'm d-dreaming!?"_

_"'Tis but a Nightmare, old friend. She is dead...but only in your Nightmare."_

_"H-How did you...how are you..." Jack blinked at him several times in shock as he held Baby Tooth a little tighter in his hands._

_"I sensed you were in distress. You are like a brother to me, Jack. You are my only friend and therefore I have a special connection with you. Usually you have no problem pulling yourself out of these frequent Nightmares, and I suspect it has a lot to do with your training with Kozmotis..."_

_"WAIT! You know about that?"_

_"Yes. He isn't the only one that can hide within the shadows, Jack." A soft yet eerie smile graced Mortis' lips, and his eyes became kind. "How do you think I go about doing my job for those who are out in broad daylight or outside in general? I've known for quite some time."_

_"H-How do I know that you're not some part of the Nightmare?"_

_"Remember the shape shifter we faced together?" He chuckled low with amused eyes. "How did we test each other for that whole week?"_

_"W-We asked each other important questions..."_

_"That's right. Now, I'll ask you three, and you ask me three. If you are still not convinced then you can do what you want with me. This IS only the Nightmare realm after all."_

_Jack looked down at Baby Tooth still in his hands and he slowly nodded his head as he swallowed a painful lump in his throat. "A-Alright. You go first."_

_"Very well..." Mortis gave a slight bow of his head. "...I am the bringer of death and the reaper of souls, but who was I in my former life before dying and becoming a spirit?"_

_"You were the youngest doctor of your time. You were a doctor for children, and you were also an herbalist. You created cures as well as poisons, but you mainly created the poisons to create antidotes."_

_Mortis gave a pleased smile and nodded his head. "Very good. Your turn, Jack."_

_"My name is Jack Frost, I am the General and King of Winter, but what other seasonal magic do I have that only you know about?"_

_"Spring magic." Mortis grinned. Meanwhile Bunny's eyes were wide with complete shock. "However, you have a unique form of spring magic that no one else has, save for Mother Nature, of course. You can command the leaves to change color, to fall or remain...or even to go back up to the tree. You can also speak with the trees and the speak to you."_

_"G-Good." Jack nodded. "Your turn again."_

_"My name is Mortis, and in my entire existence...living or spiritual...I have only entrusted ONE person with my full true name. Who was it?"_

_"Me." Jack stated with a hint of pride gracing his features in between the tears that continued to fall. "Now, I've helped you with your job, how have I done that?"_

_"You didn't like it, but you owed me a favor for saving you from a pack of werewolves...you would numb the pain of those I came to collect. You would give them peace by easing their fevers, numbing their wounds, and making them drift off into a cold sleep. You've helped a great deal and have taught me how to be much more merciful and that was the reason why I entrusted my name to you."_

_"Correct..." Jack was starting to ease up slightly, and his hold on Baby Tooth released some, but he still held her tightly. "Your turn."_

_"Right." Mortis nodded. "I am often depicted having a scythe. Is this true or false, and why?"_

_"It is false, because I was the one with the scythe. My scythe was made out of ice and it was how I would numb those you went to collect. It was the only way I could do it, because nothing else seemed to work. I am to blame for your depiction. I am sorry."_

_"Do not be sorry, Jack." Mortis chuckled fondly as he placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "I find it quite amusing and ironic...considering you know how I died."_

_"You were killed with a scythe." Jack winced while Mortis wore an amused and kind expression. "Alright, my last turn...who is the one person I feel the safest with? Who do I call home?"_

_"Sandman. Guardian of Dreams. You feel a strong connection with him, and you've told me once that you feel as if your very soul recognizes him somehow, but you could never place it and to this day you can't, but you also can't ignore it so you just let the feeling be. Now...do you believe me that this is merely a Nightmare?"_

_"Y-Yes...but it hurts so much, and usually I can wake myself up...but I...I can't."_

_"Jack...this is a lucid Nightmare. You can make it anything you want."_

_"B-But...it feels like I've lost someone important!"_

_"I know, but remember, you control everything in here._ _She is dead...but only in your dreams. Out there, she's alive._ _"_

_Jack nodded at Mortis before he looked at his hands and he gave Baby Tooth a small smile. "Baby Tooth...you WILL wake up. I miss you, and this is my world right now. Wake up." Much to everyone's delight, Baby Tooth started breathing as she blinked open her eyes, and she immediately started flying around Jack._

The Nightmare faded and they were all brought in front of the path that led to dreams. They all looked around them, and they noticed that shadows had started placing themselves in proper places due to the light of the moon and stars. "Alright...did not expect Jack to know Mortis of all people." Bunny breathed out the breath he was holding since he heard about Jack having spring magic and what he could do. "...or being the one all of the other spring spirits were talking about. Jeeze...Jack has a LOT of power...he's almost over powered..."

"Not over powered..." Kozmotis hummed. "...just very unique. He has soul magic, winter magic, creation magic, and only a little spring magic."

"A little!? Mate, I don't think ya understand what it means for Jack to be able to do that."

"Alright, then enlighten me." He sighed out with a hint of irritation.

"It means that he's as powerful as your daughter." Bunny told him directly, and his words seemed to have an effect, because Kozmotis' eyes widened a great deal. "With everything he can already do...and now with the fact that he can COMMAND the trees and the leaves...it means he's as powerful as your daughter. They just have different powers that's all."

"W-Well...I knew when I was training him that he was powerful, but..." Kozmotis' brow furrowed as he looked to his shoes, crossing his arms to try and settle himself with the revelation that was just presented to him.

"That ain't just a little spring magic either. The other Spring spirits say that there's a unique spirit with a power that neither Mother Nature nor Manny created. It was a natural born gift that had to be a hidden magic inside the spirit when they were human...it would actually explain the lucid dream he had with ya...when he turned ya back into Kozmotis."

"He..." Kozmotis looked at Bunny as his arms dropped while his eyes widened even further in realization. "...hit the trees...and the leaves changed."

"It was probably a hint at his hidden magic..." Sandy gasped in shock. "...dreams can sometimes give us hints of our true selves and feelings...that must've been it."

"Well...we'll have plenty of time to discuss that with Little Prince after we get him out of here." Kozmotis stated. "We need to go down the path of dreams now. It will be pleasant, but we have to pay close attention to everything in the dreams. Even the smallest detail can help the Little Prince."

"What do ya mean?" Bunny questioned with a tilt of his head and a twitch in his ears.

"These will be his sweetest and purest dreams. These are the ones he treasures the most. Well, actually, there are two possibilities...and I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before."

"What is it?" North asked with a furrowed brow.

"Well, it can either be like the Nightmare path...or it can be just one pure dream. It'll be kind of long, but it would be the one purest dream he ever had and the one that he treasures the most...a dream come true."

"Let's hope it's only just one." Bunny breathed out with a heavy heart.

"Yes, you may want to hold onto that hope, rabbit." Pitch's cruel voice came from above the dream path.

"OH! Don't ya have anythin' better to do!?" Bunny shouted.

"Why, yes! I do, in fact! Would you like to hear what I just bore witness to? Oh, it was truly wonderful! All of you pretty much disowned him while Sandy held his hands behind his back with his whips. He's a mess. Oh, it was beautiful, and they are saying such wonderfully cruel things to the little sprite! You know...I'm not sure if you saw it, perhaps you did, perhaps you didn't, but in case Kozmotis here hasn't told you, I tried to get Jack to join me. Do you know he actually considered it for a moment? It may have been just a moment, but OH! If he should want the pain to end, all he has to do is succumb to darkness and we would be a force unlike any universe had ever seen! He's all bloody, scratched up, and I believe he may have a broken bone or two, but I won't let you know who did it. It wouldn't be any FUN if I did! Oh, and another interesting fact I DO believe BOTH Kozmotis and Sandy have left out...whatever wounds he gains in here...he gains them out there, and you instructed your little and big helpers to not step foot in the room no matter what, so right now...Jack is bleeding out at the North Pole from his wounds. Well, I'm off to enjoy what remains of the show. It shouldn't be long now." Pitch disappeared into the shadows with a cruel chuckle, and he was gone.

"We really need to go down that path." Kozmotis stated with a worried expression.


	13. Dream Come True

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the song or the movie the song is from. I swear! All I did was place it in a fanifc! I don't own any of it! Thank you, that is all!

Once they stepped onto the dream path, they're entire surroundings changed to Jack walking alone in the woods near his pond, but further in and away from the other houses. "Wait...so a dream come true then..." Bunny started quickly. "Would he have had this dream BEFORE the dream came true?"

"He would've had to." Kozmotis answered, eager to see what the Little Prince considered to be his dream come true.

Jack walked through the trees, humming a song that North knew, causing his eyes widened at the sound of it. "That's...that's a song from children's movie called Anastasia..."

"You watched it, mate?" Bunny raised an eyebrow at North with amused eyes.

"Of course! It involved Russia! It was good movie! Now shh! I've never heard him sing!" Jack let out a light breath and swung his staff to and fro, gently holding it in his hand as he started to sing.

_**"Heart, don't fail me now! Courage, don't desert me! Don't turn back now that we're here."**  Jack then jumped onto the pond and started skating as he dragged out the note. As he slowed down his skating he looked around at all of the snow around him and continued effortlessly just as the song was supposed to sound.  **"People always say life is full of choices. No one ever mentions fear!"**  He twirled around some more with his arms open wide singing,  **"...Or how the world can seem so vast on a journey...to the past."**  He then jumped off of the pond and onto a path leading further away from the houses, but a path none the less and continued,  **"Somewhere down this road I know someone's waiting. Years of dreams just can't be wrong!"**  He smiled as he looked up to the sky, his left hand in his pocket while his right held the staff and he continued some more.  **"Arms will open wide. I'll be safe and WANTED. Finally home where I belong. Well, starting now, I'm learning fast on this journey to the past."**  He then started to fly gently into the air, and because of the dream, the Guardians were able to hear him and follow him, listening to his surprisingly beautiful and melodic voice as he sang more of the song with a slightly saddened smile, but continued anyway.  **"Home, Love, Family. There was once a time I must have had them, too. Home, Love, Family, I will NEVER be complete until I find you!"**  Jack then swooped back down to the pond and started skating once again, but with a brighter and more confident smile.  **"One step at a time, one Hope, then another, who knows where this road may go!? Back to who I was, on to find my future...Things my heart still needs to know!"**  He let out a slight laugh as he allowed his staff to touch the ice beneath his feet creating marvelous frost patterns as he started to finish the song.  **"Yes, let this be a sign! Let this road be mine! Let it lead me to my past and bring me home...At last!"**_

North covered his mouth as tears started to fall from his eyes, and he looked at the others and noticed they did the same, but Sandy was probably worse. Tears weren't just falling from his face. His whole body was shaking, and he knew why. North had heard the song before, like he told the others, but he never heard it sung with such pure, honest, and heartbroken emotion. The boy's dream come true...was a place to call home without a second thought, to feel TRULY Loved and Wanted, and to have people he could call Family. It hurt North all the way to his center. 'How could someone be so good...so kind...so...SANE after not knowing who he truly was, after three hundred years of people attacking him, after three hundred years of NEVER being seen by a mortal, and after the constant threats he no likely still faced from others just because he's a winter spirit!?' North couldn't fathom it, and more importantly, he didn't think he wanted to.

_Then, before anyone could say anything, from behind the trees, one by one they had started to appear on the opposite side of the pond, coming towards them. "Great singin' there, Jacky." Bunny called out from one of the trees._

_Jack whipped his head around and clutched his staff tightly. "Wh-What are you all doing here?" He asked as he looked at Bunny, North, Baby Tooth, Kozmotis, Mother Nature, and Sandy._

_"We heard ya, mate." Bunny smiled as he stepped out onto the ice, followed by everyone else._

_"I-I'm sorry...I'm not that great, and the words...I just...I really like the song."_

_"You don't have to worry about that with us." Kozmotis smiled at him._

_"He's right." Sandy chuckled. "We all love you, Jack."_

_"Y-You do? B-But I thought I was nothing but trouble." Jack clutched his staff a little tighter as if it was going to help him rein in his emotions._

_"Oh, for sure!" Bunny laughed out. "You're trouble alright!"_

_"You are mischievous." North stated with a smile as he crossed his arms._

_"You're brash." Baby Tooth gently added._

_"You're wild." Kozmotis said with a proud look on his face._

_"You're annoying." Mother Nature chuckled out fondly as she placed her hands behind her back._

_"You're rebellious and carefree..." Sandy started as he stepped forward to grab Jack's hand. "...and we love you anyway. We love you for who you are."_

_"R-Really?" Jack squeaked out as tears began to fall from his eyes. He looked to Sandy and noticed the bright and wide smile on his face._

_"Yes, Jack. Really. We're family, and you're part of that family. We love you very much."_

_"I...I'm loved?" Jack wondered as he looked to North who nodded. "I'm wanted?" He hoped as he looked to Bunny who smiled brightly as his answer. "I'm...needed?" He questioned as he looked back and forth between Tooth and Sandy._

"More than you know, Jack." Sandy breathed out as he continued to watch the dream unfold with tears streaming down his face, but then he heard his own voice in the dream repeat his words.

_"More than you know, Jack. Come with us. We can decide where you'll call home."_

_"I..." Jack started to sob, but then he dropped his staff, causing everyone, dream and reality, to gasp in shock as Jack wrapped his arms around Sandy. "I AM home, Sandy. You're my home! I love you so much! You're like a Father to me! I never thought...I never dared to hope, to dream, to wish that I could actually have this, and even if this IS a dream...it's the best dream I've ever had! Perhaps...perhaps it'll even come true someday."_

The dream ended, and they were on the pond, facing the black path. "I..." Sandy croaked out. "...for THAT to be his dream come true..." Sandy clutched his hand against his shirt as he was sure the heartache would crush him. "...I should've..."

"We ALL should have, my friend." North stated as he placed a large reassuring hand on Sandy's shoulder. "However, this is not the time. We have one path left before us. Let us take it."

"Y-You're right." He sniffled as he quickly dried his tears and gave determined nod.

They walked down the inky black path, and were surprised to be back at the pond. "Um..." Bunny started. "...didn't we just go down the path?"

"We did! Look!" Kozmotis shouted as he pointed to the middle of the pond where two beings started to appear.

"Y-You c-can't!" Jack shouted, but he didn't look like Jack. However, they knew it was their Jack from the wounds he's collected. He was wearing what seemed to be a white shirt underneath a royal blue buttoned up vest that looked rather regal, and he had a silver sash going from the front of his right shoulder to the back of his right shoulder, covering his right arm. His pants were dark blue dress pants, and as usual, he was barefoot. However, on top his head was a brilliant and elegant silver circlet. Jack was fighting a person who had his face and body, but not his clothes or color.

 **"WATCH ME!"**  The other Jack shouted menacingly as he sent a shadow spire through Jack's leg. The other Jack was dressed in just a black vest, black pants, and black shoes. His hair was completely black, his eyes were a menacing mixture of blue and gold, and his skin was ash grey.

"I won't let you!" Jack shouted as he sent electrical ice waves towards the other Jack. Even in his weakened state, he was strong.

 **"Come now!"**  The other cackled wildly.  **"They don't care for you! Just give in and the pain will be over. You'll be healed, and you won't ever have to worry about anything for the rest of your life. Tell you what...we'll even leave Kozmotis' body."**

"Y-You'll what?"

"Oh, no you don't!" Kozmotis growled as he took out his own scythe and stood in front of Jack. "I won't let you hurt him!"

"Y-You! You're just another illusion! Stop!" Jack breathed out, blood spilling out of his mouth. "Stop it with your illusions! They don't work! I've seen through them all!"

 **"Oh?"**  The other Jack cooed with an intrigued expression as he gave an eerie side glance to the Guardians.  **"Well, isn't this interesting..."**

"Wh-What?" Jack stuttered as he clutched his staff tightly, but soon lost his balance.

"Little Prince!" Kozmotis shouted as he quickly turned around to catch Jack. "Little Prince?"

"K-Kozzy? I-It's r-really you..." Jack tried to reach up with a shaking hand, but he didn't have the strength. "I-I'm s-so t-tired, Kozzy...perhaps...if I...if I give in...I c-could be like you...and...have m-moments o-of freedom."

"Don't talk like that!" Kozmotis begged as tears started to fall from his eyes. "Little Prince, you have to hold on. We're here for you!"

"We're..."

"Jack..." Sandy breathed out, trying his best not to cry.

"H-How are all of you here? Or...is this an even crueler illusion?" Jack questioned as he turned to face Sandy who didn't look like Sandy. "Y-You...you look like you did when I saw how you met my...when you met Elizabeth."

"I'm in this form right now, because we're dream walking in your mind and soul. We've come a long way to get to you, Jack, and we've ALL found out so much about you."

"S-So...you know that I'm...that you're..."

Kozmotis helped Jack to at least get on his knees on the ice, and once he did, Sandy tackled Jack with tears in his eyes. "M-My SON! Y-You're my son! Oh, Jack! My sweet boy!" Sandy sobbed into Jack's shoulder as his hand clutched Jack's hair lovingly and gently.

"You're...you're really here! I hadn't told that to the darkness who you were to me! He hadn't gotten that far."

 **"Yes...I told him I would go into the farthest reaches of his soul to see who he truly cares for the most...someone above his wife...and I would destroy them. He told me I couldn't, I said Watch me, and he had the nerve to say that he wouldn't let me...well...it seems that I don't have to look any further."** The other Jack laughed with an evil look in his eyes as he pulled out a very familiar looking arrow.  **"Like Father...like...SON!"**  The other Jack shouted in delight as he released the arrow.

Before the arrow hit him, Jack pushed Sandy away and accepted the arrow, but with a twist. He looked up, and saw the pure horror in Sandy's eyes, and the tears that fell from his eyes. As the arrow pierced his shoulder, he watched as Sandy fell to his knees. "JACK!" He shouted desperately.

"F-Father." Jack smiled weakly. "I-I'll be..." Jack groaned as he started to stand. "...okay." He breathed out. "I'll be okay." He breathed out with his signature grin.

"J-Jack?" Sandy questioned, his heart shattering, and his voice barely working as his chest felt like it was imploding.

"You're dream walking...huh?" Jack asked as he waved his staff at his wounds, effectively healing ALL of his wounds without a single trace of a scar, although, his clothes had much more to say.

"Y-Yes." He stuttered out as he started to stand in relief at his son's recovery.

"That makes this a sort of Lucid Dream, right?"

"I-In a m-manner of speaking..." He trailed off, anxious to know where this was going.

"Huh..." Jack smirked at the other Jack, who only smirked back. "Well...then I am so, so, sorry." Jack whimpered out slightly as he turned to face the others. "I love you all very much. Thank you so much...but...I need to do the rest alone. You all need to leave." Jack waved his staff at them, and in a flash of white, they found themselves back in the room Jack was brought to in the beginning.

"NO! Jack! No! No, no, no, no, NO!" Sandy rushed to Jack's side and immediately held Jack's hand. "Jack! Please!"

"What j-just happened!?" Bunny sobbed out. "H-How did he get rid of us?"

"He found out!" Sandy shouted. "He figured it out. Since he was consciously fighting the darkness, that meant he was lucid dreaming...and he's a master of lucid dreaming...and we were dream walking...which means...since he didn't want us there...we were kicked out, and we can't get back in until he allows us! Jack!" Sandy's tears fell freely onto Jack's arm as he held Jack's hand.

"B-But Sandy..." North started, feeling a good feeling in his belly. "...you are still in original form."

"I..." Sandy croaked out as he looked to his form. "...we're still...in order for me to be like this...Manny would've had to do something directly, but to do that, he would ALWAYS tell someone before hand...we're still in the dream! JACKSON OVERLAND FROST!" Sandy shouted with Fatherly rage. "Two can play at that game!" Sandy shouted, and he started glowing as well.

"W-Wait...Sandy do you..."

"Sanderson has soul magic as well. We just don't talk about it. Ever. Seems now we're going to." Kozmotis stated with a proud smile.

Suddenly, their surroundings changed, and they were once again back at the pond. "Jackson! Overland! Frost!" Sandy growled out, causing both Jack's to jump in mid-fight.

"H-How!?"

"Where do you think you GOT your powers from, child!?" Sandy shouted as he rushed forward towards Jack with the others following behind him. "I was born just like you were. With powers. I was able to Lucid dream like you when I turned twenty-six...however, you were quite skilled at it as a child it seems. I also have soul magic, now granted, mine's not as powerful as your's because I hadn't honed it and trained it since I was thirty eight years old, but I do have it. Why did you send us away?"

 **"Perhaps he didn't want you to witness his end."** The other Jack chuckled.

"No. It's because I finally know how to defeat you, and I didn't want them to be here for that. Everyone...could you all please get onto the snow, and please...PLEASE trust me."

"A-Alright." Sandy stated, walking away with the others, but noticed Kozmotis was stopped by Jack.

"Hold on, Uncle Kozzy."

"U-Uncle..." Kozmotis breathed out in shock as a smile appeared on his face.

"Come here." Jack said, motioning for Kozmotis to give him his ear.

Sandy watched as Kozmotis' eyes widened in what looked to be a mixture of concern and fear. "Little Prince, are you sure?"

"It's the only way. I should be able to wake up, and when I do, all of you should leave at the same time, but HE'S the darkness...and well...he's me at the moment. If I can do it, it should get rid of it...FOR GOOD. Do you trust me?"

"Y-Yes, but Little Prince...what you're talking about doing..."

"I know. I just need you to keep them away from me and off the ice."

"V-Very well." Kozmotis walked towards the rest of them, who were now on a large bank of snow, and he gave one last look at Jack before turning to face them all, conjuring a shield of light.

"Kozmotis! What are you doing!?" Sandy shouted as he pounded against the light shield from the inside.

On the outside, Kozmotis winced. "I'm sorry, brother, but if this works...it has to be done. NOW, LITTLE PRINCE!"

Jack nodded and he started to glow brilliantly, and apparently with warmth, because snow started to melt as did the ice beneath him. "JACK NO!" Sandy shouted as he quickly realized what he was going to do.

"Father...I'm going to guess that you saw my worst Nightmare about Baby Tooth...do remember what Mortis said about her?"

' _She is dead...but only in your dreams. Out there, she's alive.'_ Sandy's eyes widened and he quickly nodded his head, but before he could say anything, he watched as the ice began to crack beneath both Jack's, and they sank beneath the ice to everyone's horror, but Sandy and Kozmotis'. Then, a brilliant light erupted from where they sank, and soon, it filled everyone's vision. They all felt the warmth and thought behind it though, just before the light became to much. The light held the warmth and love of family.


	14. Revelations, Healing, and Family

Once they were able to open their eyes once more, everyone looked to Sandy, who was once again in his short form.  _"We're no longer in his dream anymore."_  Sandy stated sadly with his symbols, but then they all heard a familiar voice enter the room, accompanied by a moon beam.

 _ **"Sandy, my old friend...I was with all of you in his dreams, and through your dream walking, and I had been speaking with Mother Nature, Father Time, and the spirit of youth as well during that time. I don't think I could in good conscious, keep my new knowledge to myself. They told me what happened to turn you into your other form, and I have more than enough power to make sure that your's doesn't get depleted this time."**_  The moon beam shined through the window, and onto Sandy, slowly causing him to glow a bright silver, gold, and white, and he felt himself change. Once the glow was gone, he heard Manny clear his throat.  _ **"I TRULY am sorry for how I treated Jack, Sandy...but I couldn't..."**_

Sandy heard him, but was staring at his body for a moment. It was just like when they were in the dream. "I-It's alright." He breathed out, but then he quickly gasped as he heard his voice. It didn't have the small echo that voices have when dream walking or dreaming in general. It was crystal clear, and it was his. "I...I understand why you couldn't say anything." He stated, trying to calm himself. "I'm not mad. You made my boy a Guardian! You gave him back to me...when I didn't even know...I'm not mad. Do you know if what Jack did...worked? Oh, and thank you!" Sandy looked around briefly and noticed that Kozmotis was no longer with them, which caused a small ache in his heart, but then he was reminded of Jack's situation, and he pushed it away for the moment.

_**"He eradicated the darkness from his soul."** _

"H-How!?" Bunny shouted. "That light...it was warm, and..."

_**"Seeing his Father, healed his already damaged soul. His Father knowing who he was, and immediately hugging him, and accepting him, gave him the sense of home and family he had always had with him, but it was increased a hundred fold once he realized that his Father knew. Once he knew Sandy knew. He used a lot of Soul Magic, and he did the right thing by using the means of his end and beginning to eradicate it. You have to vanquish it completely in the core of what made you who you were...and the drowning was that. His center would've been just fine, but the drowning is where he lost and gained. Where he died, and was reborn."** _

"S-So...he'll be okay?" Tooth squeaked out with worry.

_**"He did use A LOT of Soul Magic. It will take some time for it to replenish, but he should be fine. He'll also need his wounds mended or healed...lightly. They are severe, and too much magic may cause the wounds to increase."** _

"What of...what of Kozmotis?"

_**"That will be up to Jack. I do not have the power to help him. Only Jack and yourself do. I had no idea you had Soul Magic, Sandy."** _

"Yeah, well...I was trying to keep a low profile while Kozmotis was corrupt. The darkness found out I had Soul Magic. I didn't want an unnecessary battle, and before that...I just wasn't too fond of the extra praise." Sandy looked to North and sent him a small smile. "We need to heal Jack. Can you get some of your best yeti to help?"

"I will be back with yetis." North nodded and he left the room.

"Good. Now, Tooth...the children still need you, and I'm sure your fairies are worried about you."

"Why would they be worried? We were only gone for a few hours...weren't we?"

"Try two weeks, Tooth." Bunny sighed out.

"Two...!?" She squeaked out with widened eyes that shone with guilt.

"He's right. Two weeks to the day."

"Oh! I must get back! But um...will you tell me how he is?"

"I promise, we'll let you know once he's all healed and ready to go...anywhere."

"Th-Thank you!" She flew out the window, but once she was gone, there was a gust of wind, accompanied by a tornado of several different types of leaves.

"Jack!" Mother Nature shouted with pure worry etched into her voice as she rushed to the side of his bed. She then glared at the Guardians. "What happened!? What is he doing here!? I thought he wasn't allowed here, North!"

"He was made Guardian...we fought Pitch..."

"Wh-What!?" She screamed and then she turned her face to Sandy, and her face paled as he crossed his arms. "U-Uncle!?"

"Good to see you too, Emily." He breathed out, his patience growing thin. "Now, I know my brother raised you better than that. Are you going to listen?"

"I...yes..."

"Good." At his words, the four yeti came in with North and they had all manner of medical equipment with them.

"We need to leave room for now. Yeti will take care of him." North stated, getting a clear look at Mother Nature. "Good to see you, Mother Nature. As always." He smiled. "Come, we have many things to explain."

"You all most certainly do...and I would like to know why you're back to normal..."

"We'll explain all of that, and everything we saw. I promise."

"What you saw?" She questioned as she followed them out. Once they made it North's office they began explaining everything in detail. It took four and a half hours to tell her everything with added input on their feelings, and she was completely silent in shock from it all.

"...and then you came into his room, and now we're here." Sandy finished.

"J-Jack is...he's your..."

"Yes." Sandy answered proudly. "Jack is my son...your cousin."

"A-And...he r-restored my Father?"

"Yes. He's quite powerful." Sandy answered with pride in his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.

"He...He's...He's really amazing...and...he's actually family. Wait...did you say that woman's name was Elizabeth!?"

"Yeah...why?"

"A-And her last name was Frost?"

"That's what I said, why do you look so pale, Emily?"

Suddenly, she stood up with a determined look in her eyes while she smiled with an overjoyed expression. She didn't answer him, she merely placed her hand to the floor, and whispered something so low no one, not even Bunny could hear. When she backed away, the place she whispered to, started to glow a bright emerald green color. "Is everything alright, Mother Nature?" The voice called, and Sandy immediately stood up with a pounding heart, that was so filled with hope and wonder, North and Bunny actually had to hold themselves up as they stood.

The woman that came out of the green glow looked exactly like the Elizabeth he knew, only she was wearing a beautiful green dress that reached just at the middle of her calves, and she had black flats on as well as a golden circlet that was a lot like Jack's, but instead of snowflakes etched in, it was small flowers and leaves. "E-Elizabeth!?" Sandy stuttered out with a pounding heart, catching the woman's attention.

Her eyes widened and she staggered back against North's desk. "S-Sanderson!?" She squeaked out.

Sandy didn't say anything else. He just slowly walked towards her, desperately hoping she wasn't a figment of his wild imagination, a hallucination, an illusion, or anything else that would mean she wasn't really there. He gently placed his shaking hands on her shoulders, and once they made contact, tears immediately started falling from his eyes. "Y-You're...you're really here!"

"And so are you." She breathed out with a wide smile. "As I knew you, no less."

"Ah...a little gift from Manny...speaking of which...mind telling me h-how um...how you are...?"

"Ah..." She smirked lightly with mischief in her eyes, which sent a pleasant shiver down Sandy's spine. "...a little gift from Manny." She finished as she began to relax. "He reduced me to the age that I met you as."

"H-How...I mean...what was your life like? I mean...well...I..."

"I never married again. I always told everyone I was a married woman, but my husband traveled for work. They knew I lost my son, so they didn't argue, and Sarah...I'm not sure you know about her..."

"I...yeah, I know about her." He nodded his head as his hands slowly went down her arms until he was holding her hands.

"Good...well, she grew up and had four children of her own, and they all had many more children...I do believe that the family continued even now with a little girl named Sophie and an older boy named..."

"JAMIE!? Jamie BENNETT!?" Sandy shouted in shock.

"Yes, in fact...how do you know that?"

"U-Um...my love...h-how much do you know about our son?"

"I know that he drowned." She answered sadly. "But, I did get to watch Manny bring him out of the pond. He didn't see me, because I was still mourning in the house, and just when I was about to go out to him, he was already gone. I had seen him every now in then in the sky...and then...I eventually reached the old age of sixty-five, and I died peacefully in my sleep. However, Manny told me that it would be an even bigger shame if I were to die without Jack knowing me, so he granted me a few powers and immortality. Mother Nature found me not long after, and I agreed to become one of her spirits, while keeping my relationship with you and Jack a secret. She thought it was strange that I had the same name as her General of Winter, and I was completely stunned when I figured out that it was indeed Jack."

"H-How much do you know about us." Emily questioned.

"Quite a bit, actually." She answered. "Sanderson told me a lot about the battles you've all faced together and about his personal life before Earth."

"Well...considering I believe the yeti will still be um...working...we can give you the same explanation of what's um...going on with Jack at the moment." Sandy told her as he squeezed her hand.

It took the same amount of time that it took last time, and Elizabeth stood there, patiently listening to every good, wonderful, hopeful, dramatic, and horrible word. "...and now Jack's in recovery...or well...they're trying to get him there." North finished carefully.

"Hmm...so he's made it to Guardian, is related to Mother Nature, master lucid dreaming, made enemies, married CUPID of all people, got hit by North's sleigh, got attacked by the Easter Bunny, Saved a fairy, and had been traveling with his Father without knowing it, and genuinely getting to know him as a son would know a Father...but without any of his memories in tact, and he became a Guardian by not only Manny FINALLY deciding to tell all of you, but by saving the children of the world with Joy and Fun, AND Jamie Bennett...the boy who is related to him, not by blood but by family...is his FIRST believer...is that the right of it?" She questioned calmly without looking at anyone but Sandy.

"That's correct." Sandy answered as he continued to hold her hand as if she were to disappear any moment.

"Hmm..." She smiled at all of them, even though her comment about the sleigh and Bunny made the two in question flinched a little under her gaze. She then turned to look back at Sandy, and she leaned into him to give him a kiss. As the warmth touched both of their lips they both felt the buzzing pleasure that coursed through them, and they tried desperately not to voice it. The kiss soon ended and Sandy was dazed. "...I do think our son has found quite the family, don't you?"

"Y-Yeah." He grinned just before resting his head on her shoulder, the feeling of the kiss still coursing through his body like a wild fire that needed to be tamed...soon. "Oh...I do hope you'll let me get used to that again."

"Well, of course. You're my husband still. Now, I don't care if the yeti are done or not, I'm going to see my son. Come with me, Sanderson?"

Sandy stood up with her, but slowly bowed in front of her. "My lady, I would follow you anywhere!" Thankfully, they didn't have to actually wait any longer as the yeti came in and said that Jack was ready to receive healing magic.

Once they were all in the room once again, Sandy walked in with Elizabeth's hand in his, enjoying the warmth. Then, they made their way to Jack's bedside. Elizabeth gave Sandy a kind look, and he reluctantly let go of her hand. She then sat on the bed, next to Jack's sleeping body, and started running her hand through his hair. "Jack, sweetie. It's time to wake up now."

"Ngn...M-Mother..." He whispered out, causing Elizabeth's heart to ache with happiness. He then fluttered his eyes open and looked up at her. "MOTHER!?" He shouted, and was about to get up, but then he suddenly felt a pair of large furry paws on his chest. "B-Bunny!?" He asked and then he looked  _next_  to his mother and his jaw dropped. "FATHER!?"

"Well, at least he ain't brain damaged that much." Bunny chuckled as he started using his healing magic on Jack.

"I'm not brain damaged at all, Cottontail! I just...I'm shocked, and I...well...I assume the two of you know about each other now...and that the both of you know about me...considering I know about both of you now, and..." His face instantly went pale as he noticed Emily with her arms crossed. "H-Hi Emily..." He chuckled weakly and nervously.

"Jackson Overland Frost Mansnoozie, you have A LOT of explaining to do!"

"No, I really don't." He groaned out as he could feel the wounds underneath Bunny's paws begin to heal. "I can see by the look on your face that they've explained everything."

"They also explained how foolish you were!" She stated with a hard pout.

"Easy, Mother Nature." Elizabeth chuckled. "He is getting healed at the moment."

"So...um...Father?" Jack started carefully.

Sandy's heart pounded frantically against his chest at the sound of Jack calling him that. "Y-Yes?"

"Did I do okay? No one's mad at me, right?"

"Mad? Why would anyone be mad at ya, Frostbite?"

"Well, I dunno, actually um...Easter...I...I'm sorry." Jack looked up at Bunny who flinched with his ears going flat against his head.

"Y-Ya got nothin' to be sorry for, Jacky. I...I'm sorry. For everythin'. I'm sorry for bein' a damn fool to ya. I'm sorry for not listenin' to ya. I'm sorry for..."

"...for babbling?" Jack supplied weakly through the pain. "I forgave you ages ago."

Bunny's eyes widened as tears threatened to fall. "H-How?"

"Like this..." Jack rasped out as he moved his right arm that hadn't been healed yet, and he placed his hand over Bunny's paws. "...Bunny, I forgive you for the blizzard of '68, and everything before I got Jamie to believe in you."

"I-I..." Bunny couldn't speak, couldn't adequately put into words how grateful he was. He couldn't believe that it could be that easy, but what he could do was nod his head, and continue to heal him.

"So...if we were gone for two weeks...how did he not bleed to death?" North questioned.

"It must've been his own magic trying to preserve him. That's the only explanation." Sandy answered as he watched Elizabeth continue to softly brush his hair with her fingers.  _'I...I never thought I would have this. N-No one should be allowed to be this happy.'_  He thought as he couldn't help the few tears that escaped his eyes.

"Father, are you alright?"

 _'I'm never gonna get used to that.'_  Sandy smiled at him through the tears. "Y-Yeah...I..." He realized he was starting to choke out his words in sobs, and then he couldn't control himself. He quickly shook his head and fell to his knees. "No, I'm not." He answered as the tears fell freely to the floor. "I...I thought I would never see my child. I thought I would never see my Elizabeth again, and a great deal of it is my fault if I had just simply visited, but I...I couldn't. It was only going to hurt more...and now...now I have both my child AND my sweet Elizabeth. I...I'm overwhelmed. No one should be allowed to be this happy, Jack. I-I had been with my son this entire time, and I hadn't even known it...and you have suffered so much, but have pulled through it with the utmost grace, patience, and care. You stayed yourself, and I...I got to know you a little better from the memories you shared with everyone especially your mother. I just...and to top it off...you fought bravely, fiercely, and valiantly against the darkness, but ended up severely wounded, and you're still able to smile...and...you're calling me Father."

"Do you want me to stop calling you that?" Jack questioned cautiously, feeling a slight emotional pain in his chest.

"No! Not at all! I just...I just never thought I would be able to have this."

"Well, now you do, my love." Elizabeth smiled as she stood from the bed and walked over to Sandy. She looked up at him and gave him a soft smile as she gently placed her hand on the right side of his face, causing him to hum lightly as he leaned into the touch. "We're here, now. We're a family."

"Yes, you all are." Sandy breathed out as he grabbed her hand and looked at Bunny and North. "Jack really has created such a wonderful family."

"Yes, however, I am a little miffed that he hasn't introduced me to his wife yet." She pouted as she looked back to Jack who could only shrug with a joyful smile.

"Um, wrong, I have." Jack smirked through the pain. "I brought her to your area once, introduced her as Cupid."

"But you haven't introduced her to me as your WIFE. What's her actual name anyway?"

"Eleanor." Jack sighed happily. "Now, that's all I'll give you for her name, but...I do think I eventually need to tell her that her last name is actually Mansnoozie and not Frost, considering  _someone_  in here said my  _FULL NAME!_ " He glared daggers at Emily who merely shrugged innocently. "Either way..." He turned to face Bunny who was smiling now. "What's the diagnosis doc?"

Bunny smirked and gave a fake hiss. "No good, I'm afraid. Completely  _hopeless_. You're stuck with us, mate. Sorry...there's no cure."

"Oh woe is me!" Jack laughed out. "I meant my wounds, Bunny."

"Aster." He chuckled out.

"What?"

"That's my name, Jacky. I want you to have it and use it. My name is E. Aster Bunnymund."

"A-Aster?"

"There ya go." He hummed, feeling a sense of warmth rush over him as someone who quickly became like a brother to him, used his name.

"Wait...like the flower? The one that means star?"

Aster blinked at him in surprise as he moved from Jack's abdomen to his arm. "Ya know 'bout flowers, mate?"

"My Mother taught me both when I was alive and as a spirit. I liked learning the different meanings."

"Well well...will wonders never cease."

"Likely not." North answered with a fond chuckle. "However, I would like to know answer as well. How are his wounds, Bunny?"

"The yetis did a pretty good job. Jack's body is reacting to my healing magic with his own. His is working on the inside while I'm working on the out, and the wounds are going away. He should actually be ready and raring to go after I get to the last wound. What do ya want to do after, Jacky?"

"Something stupid and dangerous, and I don't want Emily to go."

"WHAT!? How dare you!?" She shouted, but Jack rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist at her, expertly conjuring an ice prison. "Jack!" She shouted as she placed her hands on the bars.

"You CAN'T go!" He shouted and then made the prison melt.

Emily waved a hand at it, and all of the water evaporated as if it wasn't even there. "And why in all the stars not!?"

"Well, for one, you're acting like a child, and for two, it involves your Father. I'm going to bring Kozmotis back."

"K-Kozmotis? M-My Father, but I...I thought...I thought he was only able to be there in the dream world...and some in your past..."

"Nope!" Jack sighed as he looked back up to the ceiling. "He's still in there, and I'm gonna get him back, but the only one's I'll be bringing with me will be...if they're willing...will be Father and Aster."

"Y-You really want us to go, mate?" Aster questioned as he moved to Jack's neck.

"Only if you want to. Like I said, you don't have to, but if you don't that only leaves Father left, and if HE doesn't want to go, I'm gonna go alone. Either way, I'm going and it's likely to be dangerous. Especially since I pissed the darkness off...A LOT."

"Like hell I'm lettin' ya go into the damn lion's den alone. You're like a brother to me, Jacky, and I already seen ya get hurt more times than I care to count."

"Thanks, Aster." Jack smiled, but continued to look up at the ceiling so that Aster could work easier on his neck. "What about you, Father?"

"You have lost your mind if you think I'm going to let my son go in there without me. Besides, if we succeed, it would be nice to have my brother back and to introduce him to my wife." Sandy answered, but his heart stuttered on the word 'wife' and he couldn't help the giddy smile that crossed his face.  _'I have my wife! Oh! I missed this! I can't wait to watch her cook and dance again!'_  He screamed inside his head with pure excitement and delight, but then he heard Jack chuckle.

"Um, Father?" Jack was trying desperately, and very much so in vain, to hide his smile.

"What is it?"

"I can still hear your thoughts. That's a power that doesn't go away."

Sandy immediately had a blush grace his face as he looked at Elizabeth and then at his son. "R-Right...I-I forgot."

"Apparently." Jack chuckled. "You've already pretty much shown me, but that doesn't mean I need to hear it." His smile broadened and his eyes shone with joy, causing Sandy to relax a little. "But that's okay since it was about Mother. It's not like I'm entirely innocent either."

"Wait, Jack can hear your thoughts?" Elizabeth questioned with a stunned expression.  _'And they were about me, huh?'_

"Didn't we tell you that?" Sandy questioned.

"No, I think I would've remembered that." She answered, and Jack could tell that she was crossing her arms and giving Sandy 'the look'.

"She's giving you 'the look' isn't she, Father?"

"Oh, so you got it too, then? That makes me feel a bit better." Sandy bellowed out a laugh. "Yes, she's giving me 'the look', and yes, Jack can read my mind. It's sometimes how he found me in the middle of the night when he wanted to come and sit on my dream cloud to either talk or simply sit in silence."

"Well, isn't that interesting." She hummed.

"Oh no..." Both Jack and Sandy groaned together.

"What is it?" North questioned with a hint of curiosity and amusement shining in his eyes.

"She's got an idea." Jack and Sandy answered in unison. Then, they suddenly both started laughing.

"Now, that's not very nice." She chuckled lightly as she placed her hands on her hips.

"It's the truth!" They shouted together, and then started to laugh once more, and Jack was grateful that Aster got done with his neck and was now working on his legs.

"Hey, not to interrupt the creep fest that is you and your Father becoming perfectly in sync..." Aster smirked. "...but it's been buggin' me. Why did Jack have a circlet when he was facing the darkness and why was he all dressed up like that...and why does Elizabeth have a circlet thing too? Is it a General of season thing?"

"It most certainly is not a General thing, and I'm an idiot." Emily answered as she face palmed herself. "Not only do they have the last name Frost, but they also are the only spirits to EVER get a room in my domain, and have circlets resting on their dressers waiting for them. I should've known they were related, but..."

"Alright, well, what does it mean?" Aster questioned again, but then took a moment to see Sandy's shocked expression as he looked back and forth between Elizabeth and Jack. "Sandy?"

"I-It can't be...Elizabeth, let me see your circlet, love."

"What is it?" She asked, beginning to grow slightly worried.

"Your circlet is golden!" He exclaimed as he inspected it. "Emily, can you bring me Jack's!? Quickly?" She nodded her head in confusion but teleported away anyway. Once she returned, she had Jack's silver circlet in her hand. "Good, hand it to me, please."

"What is it?" Emily questioned.

"Emily, do you really not remember?" Sandy asked carefully as he stared at the circlets in his hands.

"I guess not...what does this have to do with the circlets? I mean it's not like they're...Wait...you can't be serious..."

"Oh, I'm deadly serious." He chuckled out in disbelief. "Since My mother and Father died, the only one capable of restoring any kind of status to me would've been your Father since he was made Lord High General of the Galaxy, and there's an emergency reign, but once it's placed, it's permanent no matter what."

"What are you talking about?" North questioned with widened eyes.

"It must've been just before he got swallowed by the black gate...that's the only time it would've worked." Emily stated, ignoring North's question.

"You're right!"

"Sandy!" Aster shouted as he continued to heal a very confused Jack. "What is it?"

"Aster, look at the circlets. Look at the language etched on the inside, and notice what their made of."

Aster took a moment to finish up the gash on Jack's leg, and then he took the circlets from Sandy. Once he looked at the ancient writing on the inside, his eyes widened. He then looked at how Jack's was truly silver and made of stardust and moon sand while Elizabeth's was made of glowstone and the remains of a golden comet. "B-But these are for..."

"The golden one is for THE Lady Pitchiner, and the silver one is for the first born."

"Wait...Lady Pitchiner?" North started. "...and your last name used to be Pitchiner..."

"And apparently still is. The only way these would've come about would've been if Kozmotis gave me my title back as first born prince. He wouldn't have needed to tell anyone either. All he would have to do is say it, and it would be so, but since he somehow gave me my title, it went from prince..to King due to the emergency reign. It must've been when he was guarding the black gate...before he gave in."

"Wait...so...I'm a King...AND a prince?" Jack questioned carefully.

"S-Seems so, Jacky." Aster stuttered out as he continued to heal Jack's leg after giving the circlets back. His heart was pounding and his mind was reeling.  _'He's THE Prince!? AND he's the King of Winter!? Seriously...how can he hold this much power and not explode or be corrupt at all!?'_

"A-And that would make Sanderson..." Elizabeth trailed off with widened eyes. "...you're the KING! O-Of the Universe!"

"Apparently, otherwise you wouldn't have that circlet. When we got married, that bound you to me in name, body, soul and title, and it bound me the same way to you, and it gave you the title that would be matched with mine...I had a title without even knowing it. Well...things just got a lot more interesting, and so help me, Aster, if you try to bow, I will use one of my whips to take one of your boomerangs, and I will attack you with your own boomerang. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, mate!" Aster squeaked slightly, causing Jack to let out a boisterous laugh.

"Alright! So it's not just me! I hate it when my winter spirits bow to me! It took me three decades to get them to stop!"

"Must be genetic." Sandy joked as he walked over to sit next to Jack on the bed as Aster finished up with Jack's left leg and continued to the right. "I hated it. More so if it came from friends. I knew it was a necessary thing sometimes, but I still hated it. I don't know how Kozmotis put up with it."

"So um...how long did my name just get?"

"Considering I gave you my middle name for a last name...not long. Your name is Jackson Overland Frost Pitchiner." Sandy answered and watched with a shocked expression as Jack started to glow brightly.

"Crikey! He's turning into a damn star!" Aster shouted. "Sandy, I'm not jokin', mate! You just gave him the royal name!"

"Starshine!" Sandy shouted and immediately lifted Jack's torso off of the bed and hugged him tightly, feeling the incredibly comforting warmth that came from Jack's starlight. "Your name is Jackson Overland Frost Pitchiner, and you are the son of the Lord High General of the Galaxies Sanderson Mansnoozie Pitchiner, and the Lady Elizabeth Elaine Pitchiner! You are of noble blood and shall always be so!" Sandy shouted desperately, and the glowing stopped, and settled into a shimmer until even that was gone. "Now...Jack...breathe." Sandy breathed out as he carefully laid Jack back down, quickly noticing that ALL of his wounds were healed now.

"F-Father?" Jack groaned out. As he tried to get up, he took in the noticeable gasps from everyone, and then he opened his eyes to look at everyone, and the gasps sounded again. "Wh-What's going on? Why do you all look like you've seen a ghost?" Without answering, Sandy grabbed the silver circlet and placed it on Jack's head, allowing it to briefly glow a brilliant silver.

"It's not that, Jacky. Can ya conjure an ice mirror?" Bunny requested as he moved to stand by North's side.

Jack nodded his head and stood from the bed. He quickly noticed his clothes were different, and that they were the clothes he was wearing when he faced the darkness in his soul. Quickly, he conjured the large ice mirror that stood as tall as him, and his eyes blinked several times at the sight before him. His reflection no longer showed a thin fourteen year old. No. His reflection now showed someone in their early twenties, muscular, regal, and everything he already was...just older. His hair was still snow white, but his eyes matched Sandy's perfectly. "I...I'm older." He stated, and he noticed how his voice was deeper, but only slightly. "Oh boy...Eleanor won't be able to keep her hands off me for a second." He laughed out as he looked into the mirror. "Here, let's see what happens." Jack rushed to the window, and realized he didn't have his staff. "Uh, Aster? You had my staff, right?"

"Oh!" Aster nodded quickly as he walked over to the head of the bed. "I put it there when I started to heal ya. Here ya go."

"Thanks." He smiled and then went to the window, and used his staff to tap it four times, causing a pink portal to appear.

Once Cupid stepped out she took one look at Jack, then at his staff, and then her eyes filled with rage as she quickly pinned him to a wall with a dagger at his throat. "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing with my husband's staff!?"

"E-Eleanor!" Jack rasped out beneath the dagger. "I-It's me! Put the blade...d-down! It's m-me! Jack!"

"What?" She whispered out, but shook her head. "No! My husband's eyes are two beautiful pools of sapphires! Y-Your's are like sunsets! And besides, my husband has lain with me plenty of times so I would know what his body looks like, and this is not what he looked like! Y-You're even wearing a stupid circlet! He never wore one! You may have his white hair, his extremely almost invisible freckles, and his ears, and...and..."

Jack rolled his eyes and immediately grabbed Cupid's arms, turned her around to face away from him as he carefully held her shoulders. "...and it's me, Eleanor." He told her as he leaned closer to her ear. "It's me, your husband, Jack Frost. My appearance and voice got older. I promise you. Have I EVER lied to you?"

"N-No..." She stuttered out, her cheeks gaining a rosy red color.

"Are you gonna put the blade away now, Eleanor?"

"Y-Yes." She nodded her head, and sheathed the blade as she turned around to face Jack. "What happened?"

"A lot." He sighed out with a slight smirk. "To put it simply...I became a Guardian..."

"You what?" She questioned with widened eyes and a look of disbelief.

"I became a Guardian...and I helped the others to defeat Pitch, and in doing so, I eventually got hold of my memories, and found out who I used to be before Jack Frost...however, because of something that happened during the battle I ended up battling with my soul. Thankfully the others were able to help me, but along with helping me, we ALL came to some startling revelations, and my last name is no longer Frost...so...neither is your's for that matter."

"Wh-What's my last name?"

"Pitchiner." Jack stated calmly, unsure of how she would react.

"Like..."

"Yeah, like Pitch Black, but it's not the same. It was just derived from his real name which was Kozmotis Pitchiner."

"Kozzy? The man you spoke of that trained you?"

"Yup. Same person...well...not really...but...you get it."

"Okay...and you'll explain everything?"

Jack smiled at her, and gently kissed Eleanor's lips while holding her hands. Then, much to Eleanor's dislike, he ended the kiss with a brilliant smile. "I promise, however, they might be better at explaining." Jack breathed out as he motioned towards three highly amused Guardians, and two smirking women with their arms crossed.

"Well, well...looks like Jack is JUST LIKE his father." Elizabeth chuckled, causing Sandy's face to grow red, but there was still a hint of pride on his face.

"Wait...are you the General of Spring? What are you doing here?"

"Well, Eleanor, you know how I told you that Sandy was like a Father to me?"

"Yes?" She narrowed her eyes at Jack as if she tried to find the answers in his eyes, but she couldn't find them. Instead, she found her heart pounding at the look in his eyes. Loving, caring, relief, joy, and Kindness.  _'They're still his eyes.'_  She thought to herself, but quickly shook her head. "What does that have to do with...?"

"A lot...considering he actually IS my Father."

"Wh-What!? H-How!? Wh-When!?"

"Will you allow us to explain?" He asked as he took her hands in his. "Please?"

She allowed the blush to creep up to her face as she nodded, and they explained everything like they had for Mother Nature and Elizabeth. Once they finished explaining, Jack set her down in one of the chairs in the room, and he knelt down in front of her, holding her hand. "She alright, mate?" Aster asked carefully with concern in his eyes as he noticed her widened eyes, and nearly speechless state.

"Eleanor?" Jack questioned cautiously. "Are you alright?"

"I-I...I'm m-married to...a-a prince...a-and a Guardian...and..." She looked up to Sandy and Elizabeth, and instantly stood from her chair. "I-I'm sorry for my rudeness."

Sandy couldn't help but chuckle warmly as he saw the concern and worry cross Eleanor's face. "You have nothing to worry about, Cupid. You and Jack remind me a lot of me and Elizabeth, believe it or not." He told her honestly, remembering that they left out the detail of showing Jack his memories of meeting Elizabeth.

"W-We do?" She questioned as she looked at Jack.

"Yes, you really do." He answered.

"Hmm..." Jack voiced as he remembered Eleanor's reaction to his eyes, and he went towards the window. "...hey, Manny?"

 ** _"Yes, Jack?"_**  Manny questioned, and you could hear the relief and joy in his tone.

"Not that I don't enjoy my new eye color, I do, but I do SPECIFICALLY remember requesting to have blue eyes...can you um..." The moon beam shined on him, and he could hear Manny's warm chuckle all around him. Then, the moon beam left.

_**"There you go. Your blue eyes that you had before."** _

"Thank you, Manny...for everything."

_**"I...am sorry for not telling you...or Tooth for that matter, considering she could've given you everything you wanted with your memories."** _

"But if you had, I wouldn't be exactly where I am today, and I quite enjoy where I'm at. Hardship and all. So, thank you."

 _ **"Y-You're welcome!"**_  With that, the moon beam was gone along with Manny's shocked voice.

"Is this better, Eleanor?" Jack asked as he walked towards her, and felt a sense of pride when he heard her gasp as she looked into his eyes.

"Yes." She nodded her head. "Those are the eyes I know." She smiled as she held her hands up to his face, but quickly noticed the saddened and guilty look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Look, I'm glad you've met my parents, and I'm glad they could finally meet my wife, even if they've already met you...but they didn't know me as me...and you as mine, but...I have to go and do something dangerous."

"When don't you do something dangerous!?" She laughed.

Jack chuckled low and nodded his head. "Fair enough, but I'm going to try and return Kozmotis to his normal self...see if I can't help him eradicate his darkness as well."

"Y-you're going to go back and face Pitch again!? You just got back from that, and look at what had to be done for you!"

Jack wrapped his arms around her, and held her tightly as he buried his nose in the nape of her neck. "You know I have to, Eleanor. He's family."

Eleanor wrapped her arms around him and held him as tightly as she could. "You are such a stubborn fool! You are stubborn, reckless, pig headed, troublesome, and FOOLISH!"

Jack nodded his head happily as he pulled away to look at the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "Yes, I am all of those things, and you love it all."

"Damn you..." She muttered as she looked to the floor, both her and Jack ignored the gasps of shock at her words, because both knew what she was about to say. "Damn you and your eyes, your lips, your kind heart, your hugs, your warmth, your love, and...and..."

Jack pulled her in for another quick kiss and smiled at her. "I love you too."

She nodded her head and quickly wrapped her arms around him. "You better come back to me, you fool. From what it sounded like...I almost lost you and I wouldn't have even known it."

"I'll come back, I promise." He squeezed her tightly before walking towards Aster and Sandy. "I'm too stubborn to die, remember? You told me that once."

"Then you better be more stubborn than any mule!" She exclaimed with a slight laugh.

"Well, at least he won't have to try." Aster joked, lightening the mood for everyone. "Ready, Jacky?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Are you ready, Father?"

"It'll be quite the shock for Kozmotis to see me like this, and you dressed like that." With that, Aster tapped the ground twice, and they were gone.


	15. Together Again

Once they made it to where they saw Pitch get dragged down, Jack looked around for broken pieces of wood, and it took about ten minutes, but he eventually found them. "HERE!" He shouted and pointed at the spot of dirt that seemed more different than the others.

Aster tapped his foot once against the hole, causing it to reform, and they all jumped down. "Do ya know where we might find him?" Aster questioned as he took his boomerangs out.

"Kinda hoping we don't have to find him." Jack shrugged.

"Well, at least some hopes can come true!" Pitch's voice rang throughout the cavern. "What are you three doing here? And oh...how remarkable...Sandy is returned to normal. Oh, and Jack...I must say..." Pitch trailed off as he appeared in front of Jack with a wicked grin. "Love the look, but you look a bit different. Sound a bit different too. Tell me, how did you accomplish that? The Man in the Moon can only do so much after all, and I highly doubt he had the power to align your Physical age with your mental age."

"That's none of your bizzo, ya creep." Aster answered as he stepped in front of Jack slightly.

"Oh, and he's wearing something quite unique isn't he. I was not aware of this."

"And you won't be after today. You're going to give me back my uncle."

Pitch blinked at him for a few moments and started to chuckle before it soon turned into maniacal laughter. "And why would I do a thing like that?"

"Because, I'm going to force you to." Jack answered and he started to glow brightly as well as his staff, turning the entire cavern into a brilliant array of golden light and to Aster and Sandy's surprise, the entire place started morphing and changing into something familiar, but also not. They soon noticed colors of silver and ice blue, and both looked at each other in shock.

"Sandy..." Aster whispered as he watched Jack continue his advances towards a now unsteady Pitch. "...he's creating his own domain!"

"I-I noticed...he doesn't seem to notice though. Come on, we have to back him up."

"Y-You can't get rid of me!"

"Oh, but I can, in case you forgot what I did to my darkness, and thankfully I remember what I did to Kozmotis in my dream."

"Oh really? Then what are the rabbit and Sandy doing here?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders in an innocent and childish manner. "Because they wouldn't let me come here alone and for backup." Then, without warning, Jack allowed his glow to take over the room as he tapped his staff against the floor, shooting brilliant and dangerous ice spires that crept up Pitch, keeping him from being able to escape. Then he focused on how it felt all those years ago in the dream. The connection with the trees, the wind, the butterflies, the light, and when they went away. He moved his staff and tapped it against the middle of Pitch's chest, and the entire room erupted in a light that even had Jack shielding his eyes.

Once the glow dimmed, it took Aster, Jack, and Sandy to adjust to the change of light, but when they did, they instantly got a good look around. It was a palace unlike any that Jack had ever seen, and when you're invisible for three hundred years, you've seen a lot of them. Everything was made of the most miraculous silver, marble, gold, and ice blue paint with silver glitter inside the paint. Their surroundings had severely changed as well. The cages were no more, the constant winding and overlapping bridges vanished, and they were standing on solid marble that was pure white with hints of snowflakes in the floor that were painted a slightly darker shade of white, and they also had some of the silver glitter in them. The pillars were ice blue with silver frost patterns, and the many chandeliers that hung from the ceiling seemed to contain the purest crystals as they were lit with a brilliant glow that wasn't quite a flame or a light bulb either, but somehow a natural form of light. He looked around and noticed that there were different hallways, which meant this palace was bigger than he originally thought. Soon, Jack felt a paw on his shoulder, and looked up to see a shocked and astounded Aster. "D-Do ya have any idea what ya just did, Jacky?"

"I...I guess not." He stuttered out as he looked around some more, taking in all the beauty of the new area he was in.

"You created your own Domain." Sandy answered in with awe and wonder lacing his tone. "Only the most powerful of spirits have their own Domain."

"Domain? This place?" He questioned with a tilt of his head, but before he could get any answers, they all heard a groan, and bared their weapons towards the sound.

Jack inched closer and noticed that it looked like Pitch, but it wasn't. He poked at the being on the floor, assessing that somehow the golden blast got rid of his ice prison and evaporated the water along with it. "Hello?" He questioned, not knowing who's name to address at the moment.

"L-Little P-Prince?" The being on the floor questioned.

Jack felt a familiar warmth in his chest at hearing his uncle call him that, but it wasn't right. There was something cold, harsh, and oh so wrong swirling DEEP within the warmth, and he immediately growled as he sent ice towards the being. "Where's Kozmotis!?"

"JACK! What are ya doin', mate! That's him! He called you Little Prince!"

Suddenly the being started to chuckle cruelly against the ice shackles that had him pinned to the floor. "He's a smart one isn't he?" Pitch cackled. "Names have power, Rabbit. He must've felt the different energy that came with my saying his 'name'."

"Yes, well, thankfully our wardrobe is vastly different." Came a copy of Pitch's voice, but from out of one of the hallways, came Kozmotis Pitchiner. He was dressed similar to Jack in the fact that he had a regal button up vest, a sash that draped over his right shoulder, black pants, and black boots. However, the vest was green lined with gold, the sash was golden, and the shirt underneath was black, and he didn't wear a circlet.

"Uncle!" Jack shouted as his heart pounded with joy, but it wasn't his own. It was Kozmotis'.

"Little Prince!" The man sighed out, but then he turned his gaze to Pitch, still cuffed to an invisible force in the floor. "YOU!" Kozmotis growled out as he rushed towards Pitch. Once he made it to him he quickly glared at Jack, but Jack knew it wasn't REALLY pointed to him. "Release him."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked and when Kozmotis gave a resolute nod, Jack did as he was asked.

"Well..." Pitch coughed out as he stood up. "...mighty impressive doing that in the real world." He brushed off dirt that wasn't there as he glared daggers at Jack and then at Kozmotis. "My, my...haven't seen you LIKE THIS in a long time."

"No, neither have I. However, I don't plan on letting you gaze much longer." Kozmotis smirked, and then he brought out a brilliant golden and green scythe that had green glass for the blade, but somehow there was something Jack could only describe as the power of light swirling inside the blade, and immediately dark clashed with light.

"And you think you can what...just...just  _KILL ME!?_ " Pitch screamed.

"Actually, yeah. Oh, don't worry, I'll still spread fear, but it'll be on  _my_  terms. The world DOES NOT NEED PITCH BLACK!" Kozmotis shouted as he somehow morphed his scythe into a sword and as Pitch was moving to swing, he thrusted the sword into the middle of Pitch's chest. "It needs fear, but it doesn't need you." He twisted the sword and light exploded from the new wound in Pitch's chest, just before he faded as if he were turned into dust.

"That easy, huh?" Aster whispered out.

"Th-There was nothing easy about that." Kozmotis breathed out as he started to sway, but Jack quickly caught him. "Thank you, Little Prince."

"Is he gone?" Jack asked cautiously while looking around.

"Yes, he's gone. The darkness is gone, but I still hold the ability to spread it. Seems it's stuck to me. However, the embodiment and sentient version of the darkness, shadows, nightmares, and fearlings...that is gone." He made the sword disappear and used his now empty hand to hold his head. "Oh, but that took a lot out of me. I don't know how you're still standing, Jack."

"Wait...I thought Sandy had Soul magic..."

"I do." Sandy stated, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "That was light magic. Pure Light Magic. Made out of the same thing you once fought to protect, Bunny."

"Y-You can't be serious..." He stuttered out.

"Very, I'm afraid." Kozmotis chuckled weakly. "Jack used that very same magic against Pitch, but he did something unthinkable and incredible, which is how he was able to completely separate us. It was different than in a dream, because in a dream, anything can happen. This was raw, real, and powerful."

"What did he do!?" Aster questioned as he gaped at Jack who seemed just as curious.

"He fused Light Magic with Soul Magic." Kozmotis answered as he started to stand a little straighter. "And by the looks of it..." He trailed off as he started to look around. "...his soul magic took over the entire palace. This place is now on an entirely different plane of existence and the door has even moved. Congratulations, Little Prince." He smiled down towards Jack with pride in his eyes. "You created your own domain. General and King of Winter...this is your palace. Your Domain. The snow Queen has a palace, but she doesn't have her own Domain. This'll be quite something. So, what now?" He asked Jack let go of him slowly.

"Now..." Jack grinned. "I want you to meet my Mother." He beamed up at him with a slight chuckle.

"Come again!?"

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo** _

Once they arrived at the North Pole, in the exact room they left, they were waited by everyone who was there last, with the addition of Tooth. "So, I take it she's up to speed?" Jack questioned and Elizabeth nodded with a joyful smile.

Then, with the speed of a hummingbird, Tooth rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Kozmotis, who then flinched slightly in shock at ACTUALLY feeling her. "Th-This is real..."

"Yes." Tooth breathed out against the nape of his neck. "You're really here! I don't sense Pitch Black in you at all!" She pulled away from the hug, and immediately pressed her lips against his, sending a jolt of pleasure through them both, but before they got carried away, she pulled back and settled herself on the ground.

"Well, now that that's dealt with." Jack laughed out, feeling everyone's joy nearly crushing him in all the best ways. "Uncle Kozzy, I would like for you to meet my Mother." Jack said as he walked towards Elizabeth and looked up at her.

Kozmotis' eyes widened incredibly as he looked at the General of spring and took notice of her's and Jack's circlets. "S-So I take it...it worked. Just before I went into the black gate I said, 'Sanderson Mansnoozie is once again a Pitchiner and shall take his rightful place at the throne.' Then, I opened the gate."

"That's what I figured happened once I got a good look at their circlets." Sandy answered.

Kozmotis nodded at him briefly, but then walked over to Elizabeth with a determined expression. Once he was in front of her and Jack, he knelt down and bowed his head. "Lady Pitchiner. It is a pleasure to meet you, and I cannot thank you enough for raising such a magnificent, noble, brave, kind, optimistic, and wonderful child." He stood and smiled at her. "I'm so glad my brother has you. You're good for him."

"Th-Thank you." She stuttered out as she felt her cheeks warm in slight embarrassment.

"Right, now...Uncle Kozzy...this is my wife. Eleanor." Jack stated as he then walked over to Cupid and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Ah, very nice to meet you. Yes, in Jack's spare time with me, he would often talk about you, and the fact that you always say that the two of you have lain together, but really the two of you have only been sharing a bed. The both of you are still virgins."

"I...!" She squeaked at a pitch that Jack had never heard her go to. "...well...I..."

"So..." Elizabeth drawled out with a curious expression. "...Jack...are you really still a virgin?"

"Yup. Although, I will admit, I kind of like it when she says it."

"Huh...so...when are Sandy and I going to have some Grandchildren?"

"MOTHER!" Jack shouted, his cheeks going impossibly red.

"ELIZABETH!" Sandy staggered back at her words.

"What?" She shrugged with a mischievous smile on her face. "They're already married, it's not like they need our permission to have sex...which...why haven't you?"

"I'm starting to see why you like her, brother. She doesn't mince words." Kozmotis laughed, and Tooth snickered.

"No..." He sighed out as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "...she never has. Jack...you know she's not going to stop until you answer her."

"Right..." He nodded his head, trying to steady his voice. "...well..."

"Who's doing the waiting? You or her?"

"I...I am." Jack answered. "I just...I don't want to mess it up, and she hasn't done it with anyone either and I...wow...this is SO awkward talking about it in front of my ENTIRE Family."

"That's what you were waiting on!? That's what concerned you?" Eleanor blinked at him in shock. "Honey, I've been ready for the LONGEST time! Virgin or not, I love you, and you're my husband. I thought it was just because you didn't want to."

"NO! I do! It's just..."

"Well, you're not gonna figure it out without trying." Eleanor smiled at him with loving eyes.

"Perhaps..." Jack nodded his head as he looked over at Emily. "...Perhaps we could discuss this back at my domain?" He questioned carefully, listening to everyone else's shocked reactions. Truth be told, he was shocked himself when he saw it from the inside, but when he found out that the door just so happen to open like a portal onto his pond and that all he had to do to get in was tap his staff once against the ice...he was floored.

"Y-Your what?" Emily asked in disbelief.

"It's true." Aster stated. "When he separated Kozmotis and Pitch Black, his Soul Magic took over and turned Pitch's lair into a very fitting Domain for not only the King of Winter, but for a Pitchiner as well."

"D-Daughter!" Kozmotis stuttered out as he looked behind Eleanor. "I-I...I'm s-so sorry. I love you, Emily, and I'm sorry."

She couldn't fight the tears even if she wanted to. She hadn't seen her Father like this in so long. She pushed past Eleanor and wrapped her arms around his neck, and started crying. "I f-forgive you! I missed you so much!"

"Well..." Jack sighed happily. "...seems like everyone is getting their happy ending." He took Elanor's hand and looked into her eyes, feeling warmth in his cheeks and nervousness in his heart. "However, you never really did answer my question." He whispered.

"I...I would like that very much." She nodded her head with the blush deepening.

As Aster looked at everyone in the room, he could feel everyone's hope, and he couldn't help the silent tears that fell. To get here took everything. It took Jack becoming a Guardian, distrust, dislike, anger, frustration, heartache, pain, courage, friendship, family, belief, trust, and above all...to took Hope. So much Hope and he could feel it radiating off of everyone as if every single person in the room was a brilliant star, and his heart, for the first time in a long time felt completely full. He had North as his Best Friend, Tooth like his Sister, Jack as a brother, and if he were to be honest, he kind of saw Sandy as a Father figure, which was ironic considering the woman he's married to is the General of Spring and he just so happens to be a spring spirit. He also had his General back, even though Sandy was the General now. He lost an entire world in the golden age, but by taking a Journey through the past...through Jack's past...he gained an entirely new, and even more miraculously hopeful one, and he was going to protect it with everything he had. "I'm home." Aster whispered so low no one could hear it. "I'm home, and I didn't even realize it until Jack...but I'm home."

"We both are, Aster." Jack told him, causing him to jump slightly.

"Ah, heard that did ya?"

"Yeah...and I couldn't agree more. Home. That's what this is. Not the building, but..."

"The people." Aster sighed out.

"Yeah, the people." Jack stated as he wrapped his arms around Aster. "Thank you for being my friend...and a great big brother."

"M-Mate...y-you're gonna make me cry!"

"That's okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Jacky." Aster said as he tightened the hug. "We're all together again."

"Yup..." Jack hummed as he looked at the rest of his family interact with one another. His Father and Mother in particular as they continued to talk and seemed to try desperately to not kiss each other. He couldn't help the slight chuckled that came out as he shook his head while pulling away from the hug. "...definitely home."


End file.
